A Yamani Warrior
by PsychoLioness
Summary: [Complete] Kel got kicked out after her first year, and leaves to go to the Yamani Islands, there she becomes a Warrior. What happens when she has to go back to Tortall?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books.

A/N: Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…

A Yamani Warrior

**Prologue**

Kel sat on her bed, reading the letter from her mother. There were many preparations needed to be done for presenting Adalia and Oranie at court when the social season began that autumn, so her parents had come to stay at their Corus town house for the summer. They said they were looking forward to seeing Kel there. Kel's gloom deepened as she realised what this meant. She would be spending the summer in the town where she might encounter people she knew from the palace. How could she live in the city, watching the knights come and go, knowing she would never be one of them?

I'll ask them to send me home to Anders and Mindelan, she thought sadly. It was the good idea, but the thought of the "I told you so's" that her sisters-in-law would hurl at her made her cringe. So maybe I'll go to the Islands.

With sadness, Kel remembered Peachblossom. She'd have to ask Daine to take him. With two daughters to present at court, her parents wouldn't be able to afford to buy a war-horse.

The dreaded bell finally rang, and Kel washed her face and combed her hair. Then she walked to Lord Wyldon's office, feeling like a condemned prisoner on the long walk up Traitor's hill.

Lord Wyldon's serving man bowed to Kel, announced her to the open door, and stood aside to let Kel through.

Nervously Kel entered to the study, her heart sank even further into her boots as she heard the door close behind her. "You sent for me, my Lord." She said.

"Sit down girl," Lord Wyldon said, sighing heavily.

Hesitantly, Kel sat.

Wyldon absently massaged his right arm. "I want you to listen to me. I speak to you as I might to one of my own daughters. Now that you have made your point, consider the future. Soon your body will change. The things you want from life as a maiden will change. Pursue the course you have, and you might be crippled by an accident." He looked down at his right arm and smiled crookedly. "What if you fall in love? What if you come to grief, or cause others to do so, because your thoughts were on your heart rather than combat? This year was the easiest."

You think so? Kel asked silently. It wasn't _your _year, was it? She opened her mouth to reply.

Lord Wyldon raised his hand. "Don't reply now. You have the rest of your life to think about it. You are dismissed." He waved his hand at the door.

She needed to hear him say it. "I can't come back, then."

The training master shook his head wearily. "No, you are to return to your fief immediately. I shall send a servant with you. Go!"

Biting back her tears, Kel fled the room. Outside Lord Wyldon's office, she felt a wave off giddiness come over her. She placed her head in her hands and just concentrated on not crying. I am a stone, smooth and calm, devoid of any emotion, she thought slowly.

That was where Neal found her later. "Mindelan, what's the matter?"

"Gone," Kel said slowly, still trying to control her emotions. She lifted her head. "You know what I mean. I'm not allowed to return next term! But I don't understand why!"

Neal pulled Kel to her feet, and slung an arm around her shoulder. "C'mon, let's get you back to your room." He helped her along the hallway, and brought her to her room. "I'll stay while you pack if you like," he offered.

"No thanks," Kel replied. "I just want to be alone." She smiled weakly at him as he left the room. I'm not leaving with a servant, she thought viciously. I'll leave on my own.

And with that, she stuffed her things in to her travel bags, and ran to the stables.

- - -

**A/N:** There, a new and improved version of the first chapter. Hm…ah well.


	2. Chapter One

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton.

**A/N:** Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…

**Chapter one : The Yamani escort**

****

**Four years later**

****

It has been four years since that fateful day, Kel thought to herself as she smiled at her best friend Ked. And who would have thought that I could have got so far in that time? One of the Emperor's chosen Warriors in training! But it's also surprising how long you can hold a grudge. I still can't believe Lord Wyldon did that to me! He's a male chauvinist pig and a conservative who can't stand for anything to change!

"Kel!" a voice shouted.

Kel spun around to see her Warrior-master, Warrior Lord Jamil of the Yamani Islands. He was the equivalent of a Knight-master.

"My Warrior Lord, do you want me?" Kel asked, bowing.

"Yes. I want you in my study after you have cleaned your armour," he said and walked away.

Kel shrugged, and turned back to her day dreams.

After she had left the palace, she had returned to Mindelan. But her sisters-in-law made her life a misery and Kel had left for the Yamani Islands. There she had enrolled in the training system for his Imperial Majesty's Chosen Warriors. She had become the equivalent of a page, a _narwabi_. Then she became the equivalent of a squire, a _calawabi_. In four years, she would be taking her Tribulation of Warriorhood. She had no idea what it would involve. Those who had survived it would not talk of it. Kel shook her head. There was no point worrying about that now.

"I'll meet you after I've been to see my Warrior Lord," Kel called to Ked.

"Sure," he replied and she ran to the armoury to find her armour.

A bell of time later, Kel rapped on her Warrior Lord's door.

"Come in," he called and Kel entered.

Jamil placed down his quill, and ran his hand through his black hair.

"You wished to see me my Warrior Lord?" Kel said politely.

"Yes." He motioned for her to sit down. "I have had word from the Emperor."

Kel said nothing, but instead concentrated on keeping her feelings hidden.

"We are to leave immediately for Tortall. I am in charge of the army guarding the peace delegation and her most Royal Highness Princess Shinkokami."

Kel gritted her teeth. She was perfectly happy being at war with Tortall, it meant she didn't have to go over there. She didn't hate Tortall, but she was far more at home in the Yamani Islands. She would love to refuse to obey the orders, to refuse to go over there. But that wasn't the way of a Yamani, so she couldn't. Kel hid her feelings behind a mask of stone.

"While we are there," Jamil continued. "You and the other _calawabis_ shall attend training with the Tortallan squires."

Kel drew a sharp breath. Her old friends would be squires now, she didn't want to face them, not after she had run away and failed to get into her second year.

"Is anything wrong Kel?" Jamil inquired, lifting an eyebrow.

"No my Warrior Lord," Kel replied hastily. A brain wave suddenly came to her. "Only, while are there, would you be able to call me something other than Kel?" she asked nervously.

If Jamil thought the request was odd, he didn't say anything about it, his Yamani training would allow him. "Certainly, what?"

"Em..." Kel struggled to think of a name. "Would Jhedy be okay?"

"Of course. Meet me in the courtyard at ten tonight, we sail at eleven." He dismissed her with a wave.

Kel ran to where she was meeting Ked.

"I can't believe this!" she commented calmly. She felt like yelling.

"What's the matter?" Ked asked evenly.

"They're sending me to Tortall! And while I'm there, I have to train with the squires. My old friends are squires now!" she cried in despair.

"I'm going too," Ked said quietly. "My Warrior Lord Parrton of the Yamani Islands is in the army."

Kel stared at Ked. "Good, then you'll be able to help me avoid them. Oh, and while we're there, call me Jhedy so they don't recognise me."

Ked sighed. "Kel, you can't avoid them for ever."

"Can too. All I have to do is make sure that they don't recognise me on this trip and then I'm safe. I'm mean, it's not like I'll be living there once I'm older. I belong here."

"No you don't Kel." Ked held up his hand to stop her protesting. "You belong in Tortall, it's your home country, you just can't face going back to meet your friends when you failed."

"Stop it Ked," Kel growled warningly. "Or I'll dump you in the Emerald Ocean on the way across."

"Hey, that's not fair," Ked protested, pretending to swat her.

"Tough."

---

"Neal! Come here!" Alanna hollered. "I've a message from Jon at Corus."

"Why me?" Neal asked, running towards his knight-mistress. "Why do I have to get the King's favourite knight and the worst knight-mistress in history?"

"I heard that squire. Shut your rude impertinent tongue up, or I'll do it for you," Alanna joked.

"Yes," Neal replied with a calm that made it clear that those threats were commonplace. "What did you want?"

"Jon says that the Yamani peace delegation is arriving in a few days, and we're expected to be there to greet them."

"Me?" Neal asked. "They want to meet me? What is the world coming to? Who would want to meet a lowly humble squire?"

"Knock it off Neal," Alanna said. "I've got to meet them, and you've got to meet their squires, or the equivalent of them. You should be good at that; you knew a Yamani girl once didn't you? You must have learnt something from her."

Neal noticed that Alanna avoided saying Kel's name. Ever since Kel had been sent home, Alanna had refused to talk to Lord Wyldon or mention Kel's name.

"Yes. I did know Kel. Can't say I remember much about the Yamani's though. Apart from the fact that their squires are called _calawabis_, not squires."

"All right show-off. Go and pack. We leave tonight."

---

Kel gritted her teeth, and clenched her teeth.

"Hey Ke...sorry Jhedy, take it easy!" Ked said. "They won't recognise you. All you have to do is act fairly civil for the next few months. It isn't that hard." Seeing Kel's face, he added, "Is it?"

"Yes." She gripped Hoshi's reins, and led him off the boat to the waiting Tortallan delegation. Ked followed, muttering to himself about stubbornness.

Kel stood in line, waiting for her turn to be introduced.

"And this is my _calawabi_, Lady Jhedy of the Yamani Islands," Jamil said in common.

- - -

Neal stared at the last person to be introduced. She was the only female in the group. Her skin was tanned a golden peach colour but quite as dark as the rest and unusually for a Yamani, she had long brown hair that reached to her waist. It was tightly braided, and had colourful beads attached to it. She was different to the rest, and for a brief second, Neal thought he recognised her. She caught him staring at her, and turned to look at him. She gasped silently, and her eyes widened at fraction, then her expression became blank again.

- - -

"Ked!" she hissed. "It's him! Neal's here!"

"And?" Ked hissed back.

"What if he recognises me?" Kel asked anxiously.

"Relax K-Jhedy. You'll be fine. You've changed since you came to the Islands, he won't recognise you," Ked assured her.

Jamil caught them whispering and spun around to face them.

- - -

Neal saw the Captain of the Yamani army spin around to face the girl and a boy next to her. He had shoulder length curly hair and had a cheeky grin. Neal cringed when he saw the look on the Captain's face.

"What were you doing?" he roared, making Alanna look really friendly compared to him.

Neal was surprised when the girl didn't jump in the slightest.

"I was talking my Warrior Lord," she replied.

"Why?" He demanded.

"Because I felt like it." It was a quiet response that she made, barely audible against the steady lapping of the waves against the boats and shouts of the fishermen as they hauled in catches.

"If we were at home, I'd send you up the mountain twenty-two times, but we're not."

Neal breathed a sigh of relief for the girl, running up and down a mountain twenty-two times did not sound like fun.

The Captain continued. "But I hear there is a place called Balor's Needle here. You can go up and down that twenty-two times instead!"

"Yes my Warrior Lord."

The girl didn't look in the slightest bit concerned, but Neal's eyes widened. Up and down Balor's Needle twenty-two times, that must be some sort of torture, Neal thought. Balor's Needle was a tall thin tower; it was the tallest point in the castle. Spiralling around the edge of the tower was a fragile iron stair. He turned to Alanna and said, "That has to be a new form of torture in the Yamani Islands and I hope it doesn't come over here."

Alanna grinned. "I like that idea. Do you want to run up Balor's needle?"

Neal's eyes took on a look of extreme horror. "Mithros curse it! Not under any circumstances! I wouldn't do it if you paid me."

"I might make you squire," Alanna joked.

Neal clucked to his mare. "And I'll refuse," he said, riding to catch up with his friends, Cleon, Seaver, Faleron, Owen and Merric.

- - -

"C'mon Ked, I'll race you!" Kel yelled.

"Sure thing Jhedy. I'll win!" Ked replied with merry laughter.

Kel kicked Hoshi into a canter, and went flying down the road, not realising that she had passed Neal and all her old friends.

- - -

The dust flew up, causing Cleon to cough violently.

"What was that?" Cleon asked, staring after the cloud dust in amazement.

"I think that was the Captain's squire. The only girl in the Yamani army," Neal explained.

"Oh, her. Jhedy, or something like that," Cleon said, not in the slightest bit interested. Then he thought of something. "Kinda like Kel was."

"Will you ever shut up about her?" Merric asked cheekily.

Cleon swatted at him, "Shut it sap skull."

- - -

"Jhedy!" Jamil yelled. "Stop it, or you'll run up and down Balor's needle sixty-two times instead of twenty-two times."

Kel brought Hoshi to an abrupt stop.

"How come he always spoils my fun?" Kel muttered to Ked.

"I think that's his hobby. I heard rumours that he only ever gets a _calawabi_ so he can torture them and spoil their fun," Ked declared as he pulled his horse to a gentle stop.

"So, Jhedy," a voice said from behind her.

Kel spun around to see Neal.

"Excuse me, but I have to go," Kel said calmly and she started to move away, but Ked grabbed her.

"Your Warrior Lord will not be pleased with you. You heard the lecture he delivered on the boat. We're representing our country and all that. Try and keep a civil tongue in your head," Ked said.

"And what if I don't want to?" Kel asked fiercely in the Yamani language.

"Well that's tough!" Ked snapped. He turned to Neal and said in common, "I apologise for K-Jhedy's behaviour."

"S'okay," Neal replied good-naturedly. "So Jhedy, are you going to run up Balor's needle?"

Kel looked surprised. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Ked turned to Neal. "What she means is that her Warrior Lord would not take kindly to her refusing to do it."

"Of course he wouldn't," Kel said, cursing all the gods for them allowing her to get into this situation. She had to stay, etiquette demanded it, but she didn't want to face Neal. What if he didn't want to know her? He might just think that she was a failure and not worth knowing.

"Jhedy!" Jamil called. "I want you to tend to my horses. Once you've done that, I want you to serve me my food. After that, I want the book on Tortallan Etiquette read and summarised, once you've done all that, you may tend to your own horse clean your own armour and weapons then eat."

"Yes my Warrior Lord." Kel saluted sharply.

Neal whistled in awe under his breath. "What a slave driver!" He turned to Kel. "How do you put up with that? I mean, I thought my knight-mistress is a slave driver, but she's nothing compared to him!"

"Knight-mistress?" Kel asked in surprise.

"Mmm. Yeah, the Lioness." Neal said.

"The Lioness is your knight-mistress?" Kel asked in total surprise. "Who would have thought..." She trailed off as she saw Neal staring. "I've got to go, I have work to do. Bye Ked!" Kel galloped off, cursing softly in Yamani.


	3. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton.

**A/N:** Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've tried to sort out everything, but I'm no where near perfect so I'm sure you'll be able to find some mistakes. I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…

**Chapter two: Training**

Neal walked down to the training yard yawning and trying to flatten his brown hair. It was late in the morning, but as far as he was concerned, it was far too early. He stumbled over to the fence around the training yard, and stood watching the two people who were sword fighting. He could make out one of the blurs to be his knight-mistress, Alanna. The other appeared to be female, and had long hair that swung out as she twisted and turned to avoid Alanna's sword. In a sudden shocked thought, he realised that it was the Yamani girl that he had met yesterday. How on earth had she managed to stay in for so long against Alanna? She was one of the best swordsperson that he had ever met, no one had beaten her. Neal blinked, and when his eyes opened again he saw a sight that left him shocked. Alanna was lying on the floor, her blade a few feet away, and Jhedy's sword was rested lightly on Alanna's neck.

"I yield," Alanna said.

Jhedy just nodded and sheathed her sword.

Alanna gripped Jhedy's hand and pulled herself up. "You're good. Who taught you?"

"Who else but the Emperor's training master? I've been there for five years. But I've learnt as much from my Warrior Lord Jamil of the Yamani Islands in the last year as I did from the training master in four."

"And why's that?" Alanna asked curiously.

- - -

"I'd rather not say, my Lady." A true Yamani would not talk so much and Kel kicked herself for slipping back into eastern ways. "I should not say."

"Oh. Yamani etiquette. I see."

Kel nodded.

"Squire, come over here," Alanna shouted as she spotted Neal.

Kel spun around in horror and saw Neal approaching.

"I really need to go my Lady." Kel backed off, trying to get away but being as polite as possible.

"Stay, please. I want you to beat my squire."

"No, I'd really rather not. I've got to go. My Warrior Lord is expecting me," Kel lied and ran off.

Alanna stared at Neal. "What did you do to her to make her that afraid of you?"

"Nothing! I swear. I hadn't met her since yesterday. Honest, in the name of Mithros, I haven't," Neal said fervently.

Alanna stared at him disbelievingly. "Just don't go scaring any more of the Yamani delegates, especially not that one, she's a fair hand with a sword."

- - -

Kel ran off as fast as possible.

"Mithros! That was close!" she said to herself.

"What was?" a voice inquired from behind her.

Kel spun around, immediately unsheathing her sword and worked hard not to point it at the man's neck as was her first instinct. If she did that, Jamil was bound to hear of it and he wouldn't be happy. "Who are you?" she demanded roughly.

The man held up his hands in mock surrender. "I'm Domitan of Masbolle, Sergeant of the Third Company of the King's Own."

Kel thought hard, the name was familiar. Neal had mentioned it a few times in her year at the palace, usually in some of the comic tales he told. He was Neal's cousin. There was a slight hiss as she sheathed her sword.

"Hello. I'm Jhedy of the Yamani Islands. I came with the army," she explained.

"Aren't you too young to be in the army?" Dom asked inquisitively.

"Technically yes," Kel admitted. "But my Warrior Lord is the Captain of the army, so he insists that I am a member. He's a slave driver."

"Oh, so you're the girl that Meathead won't shut up about." Dom smiled.

"Meathead?" Kel echoed in surprise. "Who's that?"

"My cousin, Nealan of Queenscove," Dom replied.

Kel fought back the urge to snigger at Neal's nickname. "You call Neal that?" she asked.

"You know him?" Dom asked surprised.

"N-no," Kel said too quickly.

Dom raised his eyebrows delicately. "You're lying," he accused in a friendly manner.

"No!" Kel said firmly again, probably too firmly. "I don't know him."

"Why do I get the idea you're lying?" Dom asked with a grin.

"I'm not, okay?" Kel asked, struggling to keep her face Yamani calm.

Dom shrugged, sensing that he would be better off leaving it at that. "Alright. Maybe I'll see you around."

- - -

The next morning, Kel was up before dawn as always, completing her chores for Jamil. Once they were done, she went for a walk around the palace gardens.

With disgust she noticed Joren and hid behind one of the bushes while he passed.

"You know Garvey, I heard that there is a girl in the Yamani army." He said the word girl with such hatred that Kel shuddered.

"Really?" Garvey replied. "What have you got in store for her?"

"I'm going to make myself her training partner and I'll make her wish she'd never lifted a sword..." The voices faded as Joren and Garvey walked away.

So, I'll regret lifting a sword will I? Kel thought. We'll see about that.

A bell rang, and Kel hurried to the practise courts.

The Tortallan squires were gathered in one corner, and the Yamani _calawabis_ were gathered in another.

Kel ran to join Ked and Salin, a fourth year _calawabi_.

"Hey guys. Do you know who's taking these sessions?" she asked, hoping that her worst nightmare wasn't about to come true.

"No," Salin replied, "But I expect the Tortallans know. We could ask."

"You can. I'm not," Kel said with a slight glance to the Tortallan squires.

"No, you can," Ked said. "After all, it is you who wants to know."

"No!" Kel said firmly.

Ked dragged her over to the Tortallan squires.

Kel sighed, she knew Ked would just force her to stand there until she asked. "Excuse me, who's taking these sessions?"

She recognised Merric among the crowd and it was he who answered. "Lord Wyldon is."

Kel swore fluently in Yamani and stalked away. "Why me?" Kel asked Ked. "Why does the one person who hates female warriors have to be taking this session?"

Ked grinned at her. "Oh well. You'll have to learn to get on with him."

"I could try until I was blue in the face and it wouldn't work." Kel said with frustration. "He doesn't like female warriors so he probably already hates my guts."

Lord Wyldon strode into the practise courts. "Right. Pair up. I want one Tortallan to every Yamani. Do it now!" He walked over to Kel. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jhedy of the Yamani Islands my Lord," Kel replied smoothly.

"Well what are you doing here?" The question was rough and Kel bit back the urge to tell him that he was meant to be being polite to the Yamani delegates.

"I'm with the army, my Lord. I'm a _calawabi_," Kel saluted and bowed, being extra polite so that he could fault her for that.

"Go home girl. You'll only get hurt here."

"No she won't. She beat my knight-mistress yesterday, my Lord," Neal butted in.

Wyldon rounded on him. "If I want your opinion Queenscove, I'll ask for it!" He turned back to Kel. "Go!"

"But..." Kel protested.

"Go!"

"Fine!" Kel replied calmly. "When my Warrior Lord comes to ask why I'm not training, I'll tell him you wouldn't allow me to. I'll be doing my punishment work instead." She waved slightly to Ked and started to walk away.

"What is it?" Wyldon demanded.

There were chuckles from those who had witnessed Kel's telling off two days previously.

Kel turned back and bowed. "I believe that is a matter between my Warrior Lord and myself sir." She continued walking towards Balor's Needle.

Wyldon wheeled around and confronted Merric. "What is it?"

"She has to run up and down Balor's Needle twenty-two times, my Lord," he told Wyldon. A wide grin spread over his freckled face.

"Great Mithros!" Wyldon swore. He turned to the squires standing in front of him. "Hollyrose, Queenscove and Kennan, get her down!"

- - -

"That's five," Kel said to herself as she set back up the stairs for the sixth time. Looking down to the ground and saw three boys, one of them was Neal. "Mithros!"

"Look," Cleon said as they reached the foot of the rickety iron stairs. "It's her!" He pointed to a slender figure that was sprinting up the stairs without care. She didn't seem to realise or care that many of the stairs were missing and that the hand rails were falling away.

"Mithros save her!" Neal gasped. "She'll fall!"

The three boys stood watching horrified as she reached the top, and turned around to come back down.

Kel swore as she saw Neal, Cleon and Merric at the bottom of the stairs. Sighing she ran down the stairs, just hoping that they wouldn't try to force her to stop. Whilst she should be behaving politely to the Tortallans, she wasn't allowed to stop her punishment work, Jamil wouldn't be happy is she did.

"Stop!" Neal ordered in a commanding voice that he had picked up from Alanna.

"No! I've only done six, I've got sixteen to go," she explained, and set back off up the tower, dodging Neal's attempt to hold her still.

"Curse her!" Neal shouted and swore fluently. "Merric, get Lord Wyldon."

"Going," Merric said and ran off.

"Hopefully that will stop her. I can't imagine anyone disobeying him," Cleon commented.

Minutes later Wyldon ran up, with Merric close on his heels.

"What's the matter?" he snapped at them.

"She won't stop," Neal snapped back.

"Who's her knight-master?" Wyldon demanded.

"Warrior Lord Jamil of the Yamani Islands, Captain of the Yamani army."

"Go get him," Wyldon ordered and Neal scurried off to do the training master's bidding. Wyldon turned his attention to the girl running up and down the stairs. "Stop this instant!" he yelled loudly at her, making sure that his voice carried over the wind.

The girl shook her head. "No! I can't do that."

"We're getting your Warrior Lord," Wyldon warned.

"You'll be sorry," Kel shouted back over the wind. With a slight grin she turned around and started to come back down again. "He won't be happy that you told me to leave the training, and furious that you won't let me do my punishment work." She wriggled out of Cleon's grasp. "Look, there he is!"

Wyldon turned to see a large man storming towards him, he looked perfectly calm and Neal was trailing along behind him with a slightly bemused expression on his face.

"What do you want?" Jamil asked. His voice was nearly calm, but it held a slight edge to it.

"Your squire won't stop," Wyldon informed him calmly.

"She isn't a squire, she's my _calawabi_. And she's meant to be at the practise yard. Why isn't she?"

"She's a girl," Wyldon stated flatly.

"And? She's beaten fully trained Emperors Warriors and she beat the Lioness yesterday. Just because she's a girl doesn't mean she can't fight, or train like any boy would. Though I'm not surprised that you won't let her, I heard that you got rid of a female page about four years ago, just because you believed that girls shouldn't be knights. That's idiotic."

Even from the top of Balor's needle, Kel could hear what he said and she swore gently. Why did Jamil have to bring her into the conversation? Next time he'd probably tell Lord Wyldon that his first female page was back! Why?

"How many have you done Jhedy?" Jamil called up to her.

"Me? I've done nineteen," Kel shouted down.

"Only?" Jamil yelled, sounding slightly angry. "You should have done better than that! Get a move on!"

"Yes, my Warrior Lord," Kel shouted and started to run even faster. Up and down, up and down, up and down. "Twenty-two!" she yelled in triumph.

"Now get down here," Jamil ordered and Kel sprinted down. When Kel was standing in front of him he bawled, "Get to the practise yard, and show them what you can do."

Kel ran.

Neal stared at Jhedy, then Jamil. The two of them were a right pair. He ordered and she obeyed instantly. He had her trained as his slave.

"I'm glad I'm not his squire! I pity the girl," he whispered to Cleon.

"Mmm. Does she look familiar to you?" he asked.

"Yes, I thought that when I met her, but I can't place her."

"Get to the practise yard Queenscove!" Wyldon yelled.

Neal sighed, and started running. As he ran he said to Cleon, "Well, it's a problem to consider for a rainy day."

Cleon snorted.

- - -

Kel ran into the court yard to be greeted by Joren.

"Hello fair maiden," he said bowing courteously.

"Hi," Kel replied cautiously. While nothing would please her more to be rude to him, she knew she couldn't do that. "What do you want?"

"Kel!" a voice said from behind her.

Kel turned to face Ked. "Yes?"

"I believe that your Warrior Lord told you to greet the Tortallans nicely. He won't be happy, 'what do you want' is hardly a polite greeting."

"Well this sapskull and I don't get on," Kel said fiercely in Yamani so that Joren didn't understand. "I have no desire to talk to him nicely. I don't care what my Warrior Lord thinks." As long as the Tortallans couldn't understand, she figured she'd be safe insulting them.

"He'll punish you again," Ked replied, switching the conversation into common so that everyone could understand.

"And? So what? I'll just be up and down Balor's needle again. It isn't that bad you know."

"Ah, but I beg to differ my Lady," Joren said sweetly. "It must be torturous to run that, it might fall down at any moment."

Kel snorted. "I've already run it today, and it was easy. Also, it case you hadn't noticed, it didn't fall down!" She walked away just as Wyldon strode back into the yard.

"Pair up," he ordered again. "Tortallan with Yamani and grab a staff."

Kel found herself with Joren.

"Great, just great. How in the name of Mithros did this happen to me?" Kel asked herself. She grabbed a staff and held it in her hands, ready to fight.

Joren grabbed his staff and took a look at the way Kel was holding hers.

"You're holding it wrong," he said spitefully.

"No I'm not. This is the Yamani way to hold a staff. Just in case you hadn't noticed, I am Yamani!" Kel replied, successfully fighting the urge to smash him in the shins with her wooden staff.

"Fight!" Wyldon yelled.

Kel blocked Joren's first attack and the memory of her first staff fight with him came flooding back. She would not let him get the better of her this time. Kel's anger towards Joren and anything Tortallan flared up and she fought both Joren and her anger. She blocked attack after attack and in between kept tapping his knuckles with her staff. He would have horrible bruises there tomorrow. In a quick movement that Jamil had taught her, she hooked her staff underneath his and yanked. Joren's staff went flying into the air and landed with a thump on the stable roof.

"What is going on here?" Wyldon demanded jogging over. He stared at Joren's annoyed face and then Kel's perfectly calm one.

"I beat him," Kel said loudly in a slight break from Yamani etiquette, causing everyone to turn and look at them. "His staff is over there." She pointed to the stable roof. "If you so wish, I guess I could climb up and get it."

"Stop being insubordinate girl," Wyldon ordered and Kel wondered exactly what she had said that was insubordinate. "What did you do to his knuckles?" Wyldon asked as he noticed the raw red knuckles that his best squire had.

"They got in the way," Kel said, wearing her stone mask. "I hit them a few times." She studied Joren thoughtfully. "Actually, it may do him some good, it'll teach him to keep up his defence."

"Shut up girl. It's rude to say that," Wyldon snapped hypocritically. "You will report to the armoury and clean the armour for a bell of time on Sunday." He studied Kel carefully looking for any sign of emotion. He found none.

"Yes sir." She deliberately missed out his proper title of Lord.

"That's all for today," Wyldon yelled out, the staff fights stopped immediately at just the sound of his voice.

Kel sighed and walked away with Ked.

Joren caught them up.

Kel spun around to meet him. "The Yamani Lump is back," she hissed, leaving Joren with a look of horror on his face.


	4. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton.

**A/N:** Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've tried to sort out everything, but I'm no where near perfect so I'm sure you'll be able to find some mistakes. I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…

**Chapter three : Secrets**

Kel went to bed that night kicking herself for having said that. Why did she open her big mouth and tell Joren? He'll tell everyone, she thought in terror. Why couldn't I have just been a good little Yamani girl, kept my face as stone and not said anything? She grinned ruefully into the darkness, that was her Tortallan side showing through.

Kel lay in the dark for hours, wondering what would happen. Once she'd decided that laying in bed wasn't going to make her go to sleep, she got up and wandered down to the stables.

She sat up in the hay loft, buried in the hay feeling nice and warm.

"Hey," a soft voice said.

Kel jumped up out of the hay, startled at first, but then she remembered the voice. It was Dom.

"Oh, hi Dom, what are you doing here?" she asked curiously of the man who was standing on the ladder to the hay loft with his head poking through the hole.

"I could ask the same thing of you."

"I couldn't sleep. I made a bad mistake, and it's keeping me awake," she explained, flopping back onto the hay.

"What?" he asked gently, pulling himself through the hole and sitting down next to her.

"Not saying. It's a secret, and I made the mistake of telling someone," Kel said, flinching at her stupidity.

"Who did you tell?" Dom asked.

"Why would you think I'd tell you that? You'd only go ask him." She was amazed that he thought her so stupid.

"I wouldn't," Dom assured her hastily. He picked up a piece of straw and started to fiddle with it. "Look, if you want to talk to me, you know where I am. And, if you tell me, I might be able to help." He got up, and started down the ladder.

Kel relaxed back into the hay, wondering if she should have told him.

- - -

A few weeks later, Kel was back in the hay loft again. She had just groomed Hoshi and wanted some time to be alone. The hay loft was the best place for that, after dark, as this was, no one ever came there.

She heard someone stumbling around in the stalls downstairs and suddenly realised that she had the light that usually lit the stables up in the hay loft with her.

"Hang on, I'll be down with the light in a minute!" she called softly in Tortallan.

"Jhedy?" the voice asked and she heard someone fumbling around at the bottom of the ladders.

By the time a head had popped through the hole in the floor, Kel had placed that voice. It was Dom.

"How are you feeling?" Dom asked as he sat at the edge of the hole, his legs dangling through it.

Kel shrugged. "I'm okay. The same as when I last talked to you."

Dom laughed quietly. "If I remember you were feeling quite bad then, because I had just thrashed you in a sword duel."

Kel pretended to pout. "Did you have to rub it in?"

Dom suddenly changed the subject. "Has this person that you told your secret to told yet?"

Kel shook her head. "You'll know when he does, but it's only a matter of time. No doubt he's trying to find out which way of exposing the information will hurt me the most."

Dom nodded slowly. "Do you want me to help?"

Kel sighed, if she wanted his help, she'd have to tell him what her secret was. "Well…."

"It's okay, if you don't want to tell me, it doesn't matter."

Kel shrugged. "I know you better know and if you can help, I'll tell you." She ran a hand through her long hair. "You promise not to ask him what I said?" she asked. "You promise to keep it a secret?"

"Yes, I swear by Mithros and Shakith that I will not tell anyone your secret," Dom said solemnly and relaxed in the hay next to her.

"Okay." Kel sighed. "I told Joren of Stone Mountain."

Dom stared at her in shock. "You told that sapskull?" he asked.

"I know, I know. I'm an idiot!" Kel said banging her head off the ground. "I don't know what came over me." She pulled at her hair. "Especially considering I didn't want anyone to know who I am!"

"What?" he asked shocked. "But everyone knows who you are. You're Jhedy."

"Promise you won't tell Neal?" she pleaded with him.

"Okay, okay, I promise. But what does he have to do with this?" he asked.

Kel ignored the question but gave him one of her own. "Does the name Keladry of Mindelan mean anything to you?"

Dom started. "Well, yes. She was my cousin's best friend. She was the only female page since Lady Knight Alanna of Pirates Swoop and Olau." When Kel nodded Dom continued. "She was dismissed at the end of her first year, because my Lord Wyldon didn't like girls. She was meant to go home with a servant, but she ran off. No one knows where she is, none of her family will say."

"Exactly. So she could be sitting here right in front of you, and you wouldn't know!"

"But she isn..." Dom trailed off as the sudden realisation of who he really was talking with struck him. "You're Keladry of Mindelan?"

"Yeah. But I'm going by the name Jhedy as you probably guessed." Kel smiled ruefully.

"This is great!" Dom said jumping up. "Neal will be so happy!"

Kel yanked him down and he fell on the floor with a thud. "No he will not," she said firmly. "Because you're not going to tell him."

"Why?" Dom asked.

"Because I don't want people to know who I am, that's why. I doubt any of my old friends will be pleased to see me, I failed them and ran off and I don't want to ruin my present life. I have a future Dom. I can't risk that. I'll be taking my Tribulation of Warriorhood in just under four years and then I'll join the Yamani army, probably. I have friends who don't mind who I am and don't know that much of my past. I like the life I've got now." Kel blushed, embarrassed at her long speech.

Dom studied her carefully for a long time and then said very quietly, "But wouldn't you rather be a knight?"

Kel's eyes fell to the floor, and for a long time she didn't answer.

When she did look up, Dom was surprised to see that her eyes were slightly wet. "Yes. I've wanted to be a knight ever since I can remember." She breathed deeply and tried to control her emotions. "But I can't be one. Lord Wyldon hates me and I don't understand why he threw me out. And King Jonathan agreed with him about that and all of Tortall!" She stood up and then collapsed on the floor, fighting not to cry

Awkwardly, Dom put his arm around her. "What's the matter Jhedy - I mean Kel?"

"Nothing," she lied, being careful not to cry. She couldn't afford to loose face. Looking up into Dom's friendly face she said, "I don't usually cry, you know."

Dom laughed. "I believe you." He settled back against the hay loft wall. "Why don't you tell me about what happened between when you left the palace four years ago and now?"

Kel laughed weakly. He knew how to take her mind off Joren, the King and Lord Wyldon. "Sure." She settled back against the hay loft wall, and rested her head up against Dom's shoulder.

Kel and Dom sat there for most of the night, just talking about Kel's past, except she left out one vital secret, the uprising the day came to the Islands. As time wore on, Kel grew sleepier and sleepier, until at nearly dawn she fell asleep on Dom's shoulder.

He smiled down at her, and slept himself.

- - -

The next morning Raoul, the Commander of the Kings Own held a briefing for his men, and noticed the Dom was missing. When they'd finished, he went to find Dom's cousin, Neal.

"Wake up Nealan," he yelled hammering on the door.

There was a groan from inside and Neal opened the door, still half asleep.

"What?" he demanded angrily. "This is the one day of the week that I get to sleep in. Why do you have to wake me up?"

"Have you seen your cousin?" Raoul asked, when Neal said nothing, he added, "Dom?"

"No," Neal replied, suddenly awake. "Is he missing?"

"Think so. He didn't show up for a briefing I've just held. I don't know where he is, he's never late."

Neal ran back into his room and pulled on some clothes. "Let's find him. Have you any idea where he might be?"

Raoul scowled. "If I knew that I wouldn't have to ask you!"

"Okay, okay." Neal held up his hands in mock surrender. "Let's try the practise courts first." And he jogged down, followed by the Knight Commander of the Own.

The two of them scoured the practise courts, but he wasn't there.

"The training yards?" Raoul suggested.

"Why would he be there?" Neal asked. "But let's try them anyway."

He wasn't there. They were just about to return to the castle when Raoul pointed to the stables. "Could he be in there?"

"Doubt it. He'd be in the Own's stables if he wanted his horse, but hey, let's try it."

- - -

Kel opened her eyes and it took her a while to remember where she was. When she did remember, she turned her head to see Dom. He was still asleep.

"Dom? Wake up." She turned so she could see the sun. "It's already past ten."

Dom swatted at her. "Mmm...I'm trying to sleep. Go away Neal!"

Kel laughed and shook him. "Dom, it's me. Kel? Jhedy? Remember me?"

Dom shook his head as if trying to clear it. "Mithros Kel! I'm sorry, I'd completely forgotten, are you okay?" Without waiting for an answer, he jumped up and cried out, "Help! I was meant to be at a briefing for the Own at eight this morning! Raoul'll have my head!"

Kel couldn't help but giggle at Dom's horrified face.

"I didn't think that Raoul got that mad with people, at least he didn't when I knew him."

Dom grinned. "No, you're right. He doesn't, but I was meant to be in this meeting and I was asleep in the hayloft!"

It was Kel's turn to grin. "Now you'll have to apologise!"

Dom pretended to slap her. "Now stop it Kel!"

Kel lost her grin. "You've got to promise me that you won't ever call me that again, okay?"

"I promise K-Jhedy," Dom replied solemnly and sat back down next to Kel. "I don't think there's much point in going to this meeting, it will have just finished."

There was a shout from in the stables below.

"My Lord, I think he's here!" a voice called.

Kel's eyes widened as she recognised the voice as Neal's.

"Dom!" she hissed. "It's Neal. What'll I do?"

"Em...hide?" Dom suggested.

Kel fell down on the floor and buried herself in the hay. Dom sat in front of her, trying his hardest not to hurt her.

Raoul's head poked up through the hole in the floor. "Ah, Dom, there you are." He heaved himself up so Neal could get through.

"Dom, where have you been?" Neal asked.

"Here," Dom replied. "Isn't that obvious?"

"What have you been doing here?" Raoul asked, "Why weren't you in the meeting?"

"I was asleep, that's why I wasn't at the meeting. Did you miss me?" he asked cheekily. Raoul was easy going enough for Dom to be able to get away with comments like that.

"Why here?" Raoul asked. "Why not in your bed like all normal people?"

"What's this?" Dom asked with a grin. "An interrogation?" He struggled to hide Kel. "I couldn't sleep, so I came down here, and then I fell asleep. Is that okay my Lord?"

"Yes Dom. Now are you coming?" Raoul started down the stairs. "And I'll fill you in on what you missed."

"Em..." With horror, Dom realised that if he had to leave it would be obvious where Kel was. "N-not yet."

Raoul sighed. "I've had enough Dom. Come on, it's an order!"

Dom sighed, it was an order, he had to obey. "Yes my Lord." He got up and walked quickly to the ladder. "After you my Lord, Cousin Neal."

Raoul looked at Dom suspiciously but went. Neal, on the other hand didn't.

"No, I want to check something. You can go."

Dom knew if he refused Neal would know something was up, so he reluctantly climbed down the ladder and followed Raoul to the King's Own barracks.

Kel tensed up, hoping that Neal wouldn't spot her.

"Please Mithros, allow me to get out of this unseen," she whispered quietly.

Through the hay she could see Neal poking around in the hay on the other side of the hay loft. It's now or never, she thought. Kel jumped up from the hay, and ran to the ladder and jumped down before Neal had had time to turn around.

"Hey, Jhedy? Is that you?" he shouted at Kel's quickly retreating back.

- - -

Kel cursed herself for being seen and then moved onto more immediate problems, like Joren.

"What am I going to do about him?" Kel wondered out loud.

Dom's words from last night came back. 'I might be able to help.'

"I wonder if he could help," Kel asked out loud.

Quickly, she found a piece of paper and a quill, and wrote a note for Dom, then went to stick it under his door.

- - -

Dom picked up the note as he walked through the door. He closed the door and sat on his bed. He opened the note and found it was written in a flowing hand.

_Dear Dom,_

_       I remembered what you said last night.  That you'd be able to help if I told you my secret. Well, could you? If you don't mind, would you be able find a way to make sure that Joren doesn't tell anyone about me? Please? It would be a big help if you could. I'm driving myself crazy with worry about what Joren might do. I mean, he might tell Neal, who'd tell his friends, who could tell anyone. Please help Dom, can you? Please?_

_                                           Signed : Jhedy_

Dom was thinking hard before he'd even finished. There was something he could do about it. Joren would wish he'd never been born once he'd finished with him.

- - -

Dom watched Joren walking through the gardens to the stables. He looked so confident and so scheming.

"Ah, I believe you are Squire Joren of Stonemountain," Dom said in a smooth voice as he fell into step next to Joren.

Joren turned to face him, his eyes alert and a hand on his sword hilt, ready for any attack that might come.

Dom held up his hands, showing that he was unarmed. "I mean no harm," he said quietly. "At least, not if you cooperate with me."

"Cooperate?" Joren asked, raising a thin eyebrow.

Dom nodded and sat down on a nearby bench. "Yes, cooperate."

"About what?" Joren leaned back into a rosebush and bit his lip as he jumped out again.

"Well, as I understand it, Jhedy told you something a few weeks ago, something she shouldn't have."

Joren's eyes flashed maliciously. "Yes, _Kel_ told me something."

Dom yawned. "You may just find it worth your while not to mention her real identity to anyone."

Joren snorted. "I doubt anything you could give me would be worth the pain that I could cause her when I let her secret slip, completely accidentally of course, but unfortunately it would be in front of the whole court and the damage would already be done."

Dom smiled slightly and there was something in his smile that gave Joren the shivers. He seemed to know something. "If you let that secret slip, I may just have to let one of my own, about you and your, ur…activities when you're down in the city."

Dom prayed that he swallowed it. He was only bluffing, using a piece of palace gossip that had been going around for a few months.

Joren paled slightly, not much but it was enough to convince Dom that his bluff was true. "I…"

Dom stood. "Think about," he advised as he walked away, whistling slightly to himself.

- - -

"Jhedy!" Neal called.

Kel spun around and tried to smile. "Hi Nealan." She remembered that he hated his full name.

"It's Neal," he growled.

Kel grinned. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to ask you something," Neal replied and Kel's heart fell into her boots, she knew what was coming.

"Yes?" she said, her voice was level and held no trace of her worry.

"Do you know my cousin Sergeant Domitan?"

Kel countered the question with another. "Should I?"

"Do you know him?" Neal persisted. Kel could tell he was starting to lose his patience.

"Seen him around," Kel said vaguely. "Why?"

"Was it you that was running away from the stables this morning? After my Lord Raoul left with Dom."

"Why would I be running away from the stables?" Kel asked putting fake innocence into her voice and making her face bland.

"It was you, wasn't it?"

"No!" Kel snapped. "Why do you want to know?"

"It's okay, you don't have to be so angry with me. I'll just ask Dom. What did I do to make you hate me so much?" Neal asked.

Kel grimaced. "Nothing that's any of your business," she replied calmly, trying to be as polite as possible and walked away to Dom's rooms. Hopefully she would get there before Neal.

- - -

A knock on his bedroom door startled Dom out of the book on Tortallan history that he was reading.

"Come in," he called and put the book down. It was Neal. "Oh hello dear cousin, and what have I done to get this honour?" His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"And it's nice to see you too Dom," Neal replied in the same voice. "As to what you've done, why don't we talk?"

"About what?" Dom asked suspiciously.

"Jhedy."

Dom stiffened, then forced himself to relax. He was terrible at lying and he knew it. "Who?" he asked softly.

"Jhedy of the Yamani Islands. Don't tell me you haven't seen her."

"Is she the one that came with the army?" Dom asked. "The one who ran Balor's Needle?"

"Yes, that's her. Peach golden skin, and brown hair that reaches her waist and is tightly braided, she normally has colourful beads in them."

"Oh, her!" Dom said, feigning sudden recognition. "I think I've seen her around."

"I think you know her fairly well Dom and don't lie to me." Neal ran a hand through his thick brown hair. "It was her that was running away from the stables after you left. I saw her."

"Why don't you ask her?" Dom asked.

"Have done. She won't say a thing, I think she hates me!" Neal said.

"I can't blame them for that cousin dear," Dom replied sweetly. "Only Mithros knows why I haven't already knocked your head off."

The door was flung open and a blur burst in.

"Dom!" she yelled.

Neal recognised her as Jhedy.

Kel took one look around the room, and, noticing Neal gasped then ran out.

"You're right. She does hate you," Dom said with a grin.

Neal grinned back. "You can't say you don't know her now. If you didn't, she wouldn't have come running in here like that. I think I'll go and find out what she wanted you for," he said and started to stroll out the room.

He was brought tumbling to the floor by Dom. "Oh no you won't. You will leave her alone, and stay well clear of her, you and all of your friends." He practically threw Neal out of the room.

Neal sat on the floor outside Dom's room, wondering why Dom was being so protective, but decided to head his advice and stay away from Jhedy.


	5. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton.

**A/N:** Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've tried to sort out everything, but I'm no where near perfect so I'm sure you'll be able to find some mistakes. I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…

**Chapter four : Birthday**

Months passed, and Kel was still in Tortall. Most of the army had been sent back the previous day, including Ked and his Warrior Lord. Kel was the only _calawabi_ left in Tortall as all the other Yamani warriors left did not have _calawabis_. She had already decided that it was very boring being the only younger Yamani, it made it even harder to avoid Neal and all her old friends. But that didn't matter, they seemed to be ignoring her anyway. Kel suspected that Dom had had something to do with it, but he always denied it. She was glad that they were leaving her alone, it made her life easier.

- - -

"Jhedy?" a voice asked from outside her door, it was Dom.

"Come in Dom," Kel called.

Dom came in and flopped into a chair with his feet resting on the arm. "Hi Kel."

Kel grinned. He insisted on calling her that when no one else could hear. She didn't mind that much really, she just hoped that no one ever heard him. "What are you after Dom? You're looking too innocent just to be popping around to see me."

Dom laughed. "You know me too well Kel." He shifted so he could see her face. "It's my birthday coming up, and me and some of the men from the Own are going down to one of the inns for a meal and something to drink, I was wondering if you wanted to come. Do you?"

Kel laughed. "Are you sure it's not just something, or rather, a lot of something's to drink?"

"Very funny Kel," Dom replied dryly.

Kel was about to say that she would when she thought of something. "Is Neal going?"

Dom looked at the floor. "We-ll, yes."

Kel sighed. "Well then you know I can't come," she said softly. "I don't exactly get on with him."

"Please Kel," Dom pleaded.

"No Dom, I can't." Kel looked into his disappointed face. "I'm sorry, but..."

"It's okay," Dom said wearily, it sounded like he had half-expected her to refuse anyway. "I understand, the offers still open if you want to come though." He got up and started to walk away.

"Would you really like me to come?" Kel asked.

Dom turned around. "Yes," he said simply.

Kel thought about it. "I'll come then."

Dom started grinning madly, ran to her and spun her around. He came to his senses and put her down. "Sorry Kel. Thanks."

"It's okay." She started to clean her sword as Dom left. "Now I've got to figure out what to give him," she said to herself.

- - -

"Hi Cleon," Neal greeted the boy who had just arrived back at the palace.

"Hi, where have to Yamani's gone? None of their horses are there," Cleon asked curiously.

"Gone home," Neal replied. "They went yesterday. Well, all but the Captain and his squire along with a few other men."

"So, Jhedy's still here?" Cleon asked.

"Yeah. And as puzzling as ever."

"You still can't remember where you've seen her?" Cleon asked.

"No, can you?"

Cleon shook his head. "I get the feeling I should know her really well. But I can't place her!"

"And she's still hanging around with Dom. He won't tell me a single thing about her." He recounted his meeting with Dom.

"Strange," Cleon commented.

"Tell me about it." Neal changed the subject. "It's Dom's birthday tomorrow, and a group of us are going out. Want to come? He said to invite some friends."

"Sure," Cleon agreed. "Oh, hang on. I think Inness and I were meant to be leaving for the Scanran borders tomorrow."

Inness was Cleon's knight-master, and Kel's brother.

"You could both come, eat on the way out," Neal suggested.

"Yeah, cool idea. I'll go and run it by him now." Cleon continued walking thought the winding palace corridors.

- - -

Kel stood in the stable yard waiting for Dom and his friends. She already had his present, and she hoped he would like it. It was a belt knife from the Raven Armoury. She had even managed to get it the colour of the King's Own, blue and silver.

Kel heard talking and laughing, and turned around to see Dom and three other men coming out of the stables, with horses at their sides.

"Jhedy!" Dom cried out when he saw her. "So you didn't chicken out!"

Kel huffed in disgust. "You make it sound like I would!" She hit him in the chest.

The men around Dom laughed.

As they mounted up, one of the men said, "come on Dom. Introduce us to the lady."

Dom laughed. "Guys, this is Jhedy of the Yamani Islands, she came with he army, she's the Captain's squire."

"_Calawabi_," Kel corrected. "Honestly Dom, can't you get anything right?"

Dom hit her playfully. "Jhedy, these men are Osbern, Raoul and Flyn"

Kel nodded. "Hi," she said briefly. "Are we waiting for anyone else?"

"No," Dom replied, "We're meeting them at the Jugged Hare. Come on, let's go."

- - -

Kel tethered Hoshi next to Raoul's mount, Drum and followed Dom inside. The room was smoky and very rowdy, with fights breaking out regularly. The patrons seemed to know Dom and his friends well, and they were popular. As they walked in, people shouted comments and questions at them. Dom replied to them with the same joviality that they were asked with.

"Your friends are over there!" the bartender shouted, gesturing to a far corner.

Dom led the way, and when Kel got there, she recognised Neal and Cleon. Then to her horror, she recognised a figure she hadn't seen in a while, her brother Inness.

Kel yanked Dom back. "Dom! Why didn't you say he was going to be here?"

"Who?" Dom asked puzzled.

"My _brother_!" Kel hissed.

"Which one's your brother?" Dom asked, staring at the three at the table. "Obviously not Neal, but is it Cleon or his knight-master?" Dom wondered out loud.

"His knight-master!" Kel snapped. "He's my brother Inness, and he doesn't know what name I'm using! He'll call me Kel!" Kel said, nearly yanking her hair out.

"Will he recognise you?" Dom asked hurriedly.

"Probably," Kel admitted. "I saw him about a month before the army came here."

"Stay," Dom said, as if to a dog. He ran over to Inness, and pulled him over to Kel.

"You're Sir Inness, aren't you?" Dom asked.

"Yes," Inness replied.

"So you're Kel's sister?" Dom said.

"Yes," Inness said warily. "But what's this got to do with her?"

Kel decided it was time to take part in the conversation. "Because Inness, I'm here  and no one but Dom knows it. So you won't tell anyone, will you, please?"

"Um...okay." Inness sounded reluctant to agree, but he did anyway.

"Good, my name's Jhedy."

"Jhedy?" Inness asked. "Where'd you get that from?"

"Picked it out of the air," Kel said, looking shifty and her eyes and face flashed with emotions before she got them under control. Dom decided to ask her about it later. "Come on, let's go join the party."

"Hey," Cleon called. "My Lord Inness, when are we leaving for Scanra?"

"Once I've eaten," Inness growled.

"You're going to Scanra?" Kel asked.

"Well," Cleon said, "Almost. We're on border patrol."

"Wow," Kel breathed. "What's border patrol like? I've never been on one, what with the Yamani Islands being islands, they don't have borders."

"It's okay," Cleon said without much enthusiasm. "But you see a lot of fighting and such."

"But that's what you're trained for," Kel reminded him.

"I know. But it's not just the raiders and us that get killed, it's innocent people. It's hard when you look at a dead person, and realise that they shouldn't have died."

Kel bit her lip at a painful memory, and Cleon noticed.

"Jhedy, are you okay?" he asked, loudly enough so that Dom could hear.

Dom spun around immediately. "Jhedy, what's the matter?"

"N-nothing," she said replied, although her voice was completely level, Dom wasn't convinced.

Dom knew something was wrong, but knew better to pursue it there and then, Cleon didn't.

"Jhedy! What's the matter?" Cleon asked again.

"Nothing!" Kel said firmly, anger flashing quickly in her eyes before she reined her emotions in, leaving flat eyes devoid of emotion. "Nothing what so ever."

"Leave it Cleon," Dom advised. He stood up, "Who wants a drink?"

The rest of the evening was spent skirting subjects that Dom thought would upset Kel.

When they were riding home, after wishing Inness and Cleon good luck, Dom motioned to the others, using signals from the Own, to go on ahead. The men dragged Neal with them and Kel and Dom were left alone.

They rode along slowly in silence until Kel said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" a puzzled Dom asked.

"For ruining you're evening." Kel said. "I was being…well...not quite me. I'm sorry."

Dom looked at her carefully. "Something's bothering you."

"Y-yes," Kel admitted reluctantly, she'd learnt long ago that there was no use in lying to Dom, he could always tell.

"What?"

"I'd rather not say." She looked up at Dom and saw that he was going to protest and so she added, "Please don't make me Dom. I-I don't even want to think about it."

Dom sighed. "Okay."

Kel smiled up at her tall friend. "I got you a birthday present."

"You didn't have to!"

"I wanted to," Kel replied with a shrug "Here. Happy birthday." She handed him the belt knife.

Dom took it and examined it in silence.

"Kel, it's lovely. Thanks." He smiled at her and leaned over out of the saddle to give her a hug. Carefully placing it in his belt he clucked to his horse. "Let's go."

Kel kicked her horse into a gallop and yelled to Dom, "I'll race you back to the palace!"

With a wide grin on his face, Dom followed her.

- - -

Kel spent longer grooming her horse than the rest and was soon alone in the stables. With a loud sigh, she let her thoughts wander.

_Jhedy had been her best friend while she lived in the Yamani Islands. Kel had first moved to the Islands when she was young and no one had accepted her because she was a barbarian who let her feelings show. Jhedy had been the first one who had had talked to Kel, and Kel appreciated that. Both of the girls were devastated when Kel left to pursue her knighthood in Tortall. They had vowed to stay in touch, but didn't._

_The day Kel returned to the Islands to become a Warrior, there was a huge revolt against the Emperor. The capital of the Islands, where the Emperor lived, was the worst hit. It also happened to be where Jhedy lived._

_As Kel rode into the city, she realised what was going on, and, armed with her glaive, ran to help the Emperor's men. The first opponent she came up against was a girl of her age. There was something familiar about her, and the girl seemed to think that there was something familiar about Kel. Kel hadn't stopped to worry about this though. She started to attack this girl, who put up an excellent defence._

_Kel remembered every twist and sweep of her glaive like it was yesterday. The whole world appeared to be in slow motion, Kel was concentrated on her opponent only. The girl blinked, then faltered. Kel used a sweeping motion to slit the girl's throat. Stunned, the girl fell to the floor._

_"K-Kel?" she muttered weakly._

_With those words Kel suddenly recognised the girl. It was Jhedy, her old friend. She'd just killed her best friend. "Jhedy! Mithros, Jhedy! I'm so sorry!"_

_Weeping, Kel fell to the floor next to Jhedy. She had no idea how long she lay there, but soon a hand pulled lightly on her arm._

_"C'mon. We'll get you to a healer," a calm voice said._

_Kel had looked up to see a boy only a few months older than her wearing the Emperor's insignia with a small badge to signify that he was a _narwabi_. She let herself be pulled up._

_Kel looked around her and saw that the battle was over. She looked at the boy. He was a typical Yamani. Peach golden skin, black slightly curly hair that went down to his shoulders, and hazel eyes._

_"Are you Keladry of Mindelan?" he asked. "The new narwabi?"_

_"Yes," Kel had replied slowly. "Who are you?"_

_"Ked noh Firatumio."__ He extended his hand, and pulled Kel to her feet. "Come on, we'll go back to the palace where you can see a healer."_

_"I don't need one," Kel said stubbornly._

_"Well why were you on the floor then?" Ked asked, studying her critically._

_Kel took a deep breath, and pointed at Jhedy's lifeless body. "T-that was my best friend," she managed to croak before tears trickled down her cheeks, disgracing her._

_Ked's eyes filled with sympathy. "I'm sorry."_

_"So am I," Kel replied._

_Ked yanked on her arm, and pulled her to the palace._

Kel touched her cheek and found that she had tears streaming down her face. It might have been four years ago, but she couldn't get rid of the memory, she couldn't forget. Jhedy might not have been innocent, she was one of the leaders of the revolt, but she didn't deserve to die.

"Mithros Jhedy! I'm so so sorry! Forgive me please!" Kel thumped her fist on the stable wall. "F-forgive me!

"For what?" a soft voice inquired from behind her.

Kel spun around and saw Dom. "It doesn't matter," she said calmly, getting her tears under control as she wiped them away. "What are you doing here?"

"Because I wanted to see where you were. Did you realise that the guards have already cried the midnight hour? You've been here for over three hours, what's the matter?"

Kel breathed deeply and ran through some breathing exercises to control her emotions. When she was sure that she was calm and her face could not betray her she looked him in the eye and said, "I don't want to talk about it." She dropped Hoshi's grooming brush on the floor and walked out.


	6. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton.

**A/N:** Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've tried to sort out everything, but I'm no where near perfect so I'm sure you'll be able to find some mistakes. I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…

**Chapter five: A return to the Islands**

****

When Kel saw Dom the next morning, he motioned for her stop, but she shook her head and walked on. She wasn't ready to face him, she'd lost face in front of him and that wasn't something she could recover from easily. When he ran to catch up with her, she hid in the bushes.

"Jhedy!" a call echoed through the gardens.

Kel jumped out of the bushes, and stood up straight. "Yes, my Warrior Lord?" she asked sharply.

"I want you in full armour and ready to ride within five minutes. At least sixty immortals have attacked the Islands and we're required at home. Move it!" Jamil ordered loudly.

"Yes my Warrior Lord," Kel replied as she ran away. Her heart was racing. She had never had to fight that many immortals, they were rare in the Yamani Islands.

"Jhedy!" Kel heard Dom call.

Kel spun around. "Sorry Dom, I can't talk now. There have been huge attacks at home and we're leaving in five minutes. I need to get ready."

"Want some help?" he offered.

"That'd be great, thanks," she said as she accepted his help. She was prepared to face him if it meant that she could come to the rescue of her home sooner. Kel ran to her room and Dom followed.

As Kel slipped with speed into her chain mail, Dom shoved her clothes into her travel bags and readied her weapons. Kel hung her sword, mace and axe from her weapon belt on her chain mail, slung her bow and arrows over her shoulder and clutched her glaive. Kel paused to look at her glaive, knowing it wasn't going to be much use.

"Dom," she said, handing it to him. "Look after this." She swallowed hard. "If I survive, I'll be back for it, if I'm not back within a few months, you can sell it. I'll be too dead to use it." Kel picked up her bags, and turned to face Dom. "Thanks. Bye."

"Yeah, bye Kel, try not to get yourself killed."

Kel and Dom ran down to the stables, where, between to two of them, they got Hoshi ready in record time. Dom strapped on her saddle bags and gave her a hand up.

"Good luck." he said, clasping her hand hard. "Don't get killed."

Kel smiled crookedly. "I'll try not to." She clucked to Hoshi, and she rode out of the stable.

Jamil and the few remaining soldiers were already there, packed and ready to go.

"Let's go." Jamil yelled, and kicked his horse into a canter.

Kel followed suit along with the other men.

- - -

Dom stood at the gate, watching the dust cloud that was swirling in the riders wake. He watched as a few young men fell to the floor in their hurry to get out of the riders way. As they got closer, he recognised Neal, Cleon and Prince Roald.

"Hi guys," he said quietly.

"Who was that?" Neal asked, wiping his clothes down.

"The last of the Yamani's. There has been an attack in the Islands, so they were called home to help."

"So that includes Jhedy?" Neal asked, studying his cousin's face.

"Yes," Dom replied. He glanced laughingly at the glaive he held in his hand. "I'm meant to be looking after this just in case she survives."

- - -

When Kel and Jamil reached the Yamani Islands, they were launched into battle immediately.

"We've got to get to the palace!" Jamil yelled as he beheaded yet another killer unicorn. "It's our duty to protect the Emperor."

Kel nodded, and set off to the palace on Hoshi, going as fast as Hoshi could go. Jamil followed close behind. They reached the palace, and battled their way in, stepping over dead bodies, human and immortal alike, Kel and Jamil reached the Emperor. He was on horse back, surrounded by fourteen men and _calawabis_. Kel recognised Ked amongst them. She rode over to join him.

"Hi Ked," she said softly so as not to break his concentration.

Ked turned around, startled. "Kel! You're back! When did you get here?"

"Just now," she replied. "We were called back to fight."

Ked nodded his understanding.

There was a bang and Ked looked around wildly. His eyes eventually settled on the balcony near by.

"Kel, pass me your bow," he whispered.

Wordlessly, Kel passed him her bow and an arrow.

Ked put the arrow to the string, and pulled the string back. Suddenly he released it, and the arrow went flying through the air with a whoosh. It hit a target on the balcony that Kel couldn't see until it fell over the edge of the balcony. It was an immortal, suddenly there was a rush and Kel found herself surrounded by immortals.

In a swift movement, she reached for her sword and her mace. Wielding both, one in her right hand and one in her left hand, she charged at the immortals.

She had no idea how long the ensuing battle lasted, she was to wrapped up in getting rid of these immortals _and_ keeping the emperor safe at the same time. All she knew was that around her the Emperor's men were dying by the handful. This was slaughter.

Finally, Kel, Jamil, three other men and the Emperor stood safe amongst the bodies of immortals and men alike.

Wildly, Kel looked around for Ked, he was no where to be seen. Gingerly, she picked her way through the bodies, looking for him.

"Ked! Ked! Where are you?" she yelled frantically, not caring if the Emperor saw her loosing control of her emotions.

Suddenly her eyes settled to a body on the floor. It was Ked, his throat had been slit and his hands cut off. He stared up at the ceiling, his face expressionless. Like any good Yamani Warrior he had faced death bravely. Shaking, Kel leant over and closed his eyes. She put her hands together in prayer and said, "Mithros and the Great Mother, I give thanks for the life he had. Black God, please help him reach your gate safely where his soul can rest in peace, free from battles and pain that this life provides."

"Kel! What's the matter?" Jamil called, running over.

Kel put on a brave face and turned around to meet him. "It's Ked, he died."

Jamil nodded. "I'm sorry Kel, I know you two were friends, but we need help. There are many men who could live. We need to get them to the healers."

Kel closed her eyes and breathed out loudly. "Okay."

- - -

Kel and the other survivors started the gruesome task of clearing up. They dragged the wounded to the healers, and piled the dead in piles at the sides of the roads. Later, the bodies would be burnt and life would go on as normal. At least, normal for those that had not been affected. Life would not be normal for people like Kel who had lost friends. As well as Ked, Salin had been found among the dead. Out of the thirty-four _calawabis_ that were in training, only eight survived. None of the _narwabis_ survived, and the number of warriors that died was too many to count. Kel cursed at the huge loss of life, it just didn't seem fair.

"What do we do now, my Warrior Lord?" Kel asked Jamil as they set a pile of bodies alight.

Jamil turned to Kel, and she could see that his face was hard and unfriendly, an unusual break from the stiff Yamani etiquette that he usually followed to the letter. "I don't know," he admitted. "We'll probably go back to Tortall. Just the two of us, to look after Her Most Royal Majesty Princess Shinkokami."

Kel nodded.

"I don't know how long we'll spend there, but do you realise that it is only a year and a quarter until you take your tribulation of Warriorhood?" Jamil asked.

Normally Kel would have shaken at the thought but she was still to upset over Ked and Salin. "Yes, my Warrior Lord," she replied quietly. In her mind she added, 'that's only if I live that long!'

- - -

About three months after Dom had waved goodbye to Kel he was sitting on the fence to the training yard that the squires used, watching Neal and Merric duel.

There were the sound horse hooves against the path and he turned to see two figures on horses making their way wearily towards the stables. They were slumped on their horses, not sitting up tall and proud the way most do. Their clothes were ripped and torn and well used weapons hung from their belts. As they got nearer, Dom recognised Kel.

"Hey!" he yelled happily.

Kel glanced wearily in his direction and rode over to meet him. As she got closer, Dom was shocked at her appearance. Her braids were everywhere and the beads were smeared with blood. Her clothes were ripped and blood stained. There were cuts all over her, down her arms, her face, her legs. Her face was blank and unresponsive. "Hi," she mumbled.

"Kel!" Dom said in concern. "Are you okay?"

"No," Kel muttered. She ran her hands through her hair.

"Jhedy, what happened?" Neal asked. He and Merric had come over to greet her.

"The battle didn't go that well. Most people were killed." She stared blankly at nothing. "It was horrible."

Dom looked at her carefully. "Who died?" he asked.

"A lot of people," Kel replied evasively, staring at the ground.

"No, out of people you know."

Kel clenched her fist to stop her crying and concentrated in being a stone, calm and with no emotion. "I don't want to talk about it now." Slowly she turned her horse around and walked it to the stables.

- - -

That was where Dom, Neal, Roald, and Merric found her later. She was sitting up in the hayloft, throwing her daggers against the wall, it was an old Yamani technique that she had been taught to relieve stress.

Neal ducked as one went whizzing over his head.

"What do you want?" she asked tonelessly without looking at them.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Dom said, his concern for her was obvious in his eyes.

"I'm not," Kel said. "Leave me alone."

Neal shoved some food in her lap. "You missed supper, we thought you might want this."

"Not hungry." Kel pushed the food on the floor, and continued throwing her daggers. "Leave me alone."

"But..." Dom said.

"Leave me alone." Kel repeated. Although her words were calm, no one could mistake that she meant what she said.

"Okay," Dom said. As he moved to climb down the ladder, he heard a sharp sob. When he looked back at Kel she was wiping away a few tears, her emotions now completely under control.

Dom turned sharply. "Ked?" he asked gently of the man he knew had been her best friend.

Kel's only answer was to stare ahead at the wall. "Ked, Salin and before them, Jhedy." She threw all her daggers at the wall as once. "Why me? Why am I the one cursed with this? Why does the Black God take my friends? Why does he make me slay them? Why doesn't he let me save them?"

Dom ran over to her and Neal and his friends stood looking in confusion at the girl in the hay.

"That was where you got your name from, wasn't it?" Dom asked, putting a comforting arm around her. "Who was she?"

Kel was too upset to have the energy to avoid telling him. "My old best friend. I killed her," she swallowed hard, not wanting to cry.

Neal gasped. "What?"

Dom ignored him. He swayed to and fro slightly and the movement seemed to calm Kel. "Kel, shush, shush."

Kel looked up at Dom the anger evident in her eyes. "Dom! I thought you weren't going to call me that in front of anyone else! You stupid sapskull!" She snapped.

Neal, Roald, and Merric stared at her in horror.

Neal recovered first. "Kel?" he asked in amazement. "Keladry of Mindelan?"

Kel glared at him. "Yes!" She turned to Dom. "Why didn't you just keep your big mouth shut?"

Dom looked suitably ashamed. "I'm sorry Kel. I-I'm really sorry. Will you forgive me?"

Kel looked at him, and realised something. He was the only good friend that she had left. "Yes." She smiled weakly at him. "All the rest of my friends are dead." She closed her eyes and bit her lip. "I can't believe it!"

"What happened to Jhedy?" Dom asked softly.

Kel winced at the memory. "The day I returned to the Islands to begin my training, there was a huge revolt. Jhedy was one of the leaders. In battle I killed her, and didn't recognise her until it was too late. She's in the Black Gods hands now. I killed her for Mithros' sake! My best friend! I killed her!" Kel thumped her fist off the ground. "How come all my friends seem to die? Am I cursed?"

"Hey!" Dom protested grinning. "I'm alive aren't I?"

Kel smiled back. "Yeah, I guess. And you'd better stay that way."

"What happened to the other two you mentioned?" Neal asked curiously.

"Killed in the battle against the immortals. Ked was killed protecting the Emperor, and Salin died protecting a group of children. They had a worthy death." Kel said calmly. All the anger seemed to have left her.

Merric stared at her. "You really are Kel?" he asked.

"Yes, I am." She glared at the boys who used to be her friends. "Aren't you ashamed to see me?"

"What do you mean?" Neal asked puzzled.

"Why would any of you want to know someone who had failed and took the cowards way out? Mithros, I ran away!"

Neal smiled at her. "I don't know where you got the idea that we wouldn't want to speak to you because of that. Of course we want to speak to you. Have you any idea how much we missed you?"

Someone in the training yards was calling her name. Dom peeped out.

"It's your brother," he informed Kel.

"Which one?" she asked.

"Inness." Dom admitted.

Kel sighed. " I'm up here!" she hollered.

There was the sound of running footsteps and Inness poked his head through the hole in the floor.

"Kel, are you okay?" he asked, the concern showing plainly on his face.

Kel smiled weakly. "Okay, I guess."

Inness studied her. "You're not, but I know I'll never get you to admit that to me. Oh well, Anders and mother and father are coming. They're all worried about you. I thought I'd find you first and warn you."

Kel laughed. "Thanks. When are they arriving?"

"Tonight," was Inness's reply.

"Lovely," Kel drawled sarcastically. "Just my luck. I get a break from being bombarded by immortals, then I get bombarded by people. How I love it! Not that I don't want to see them, but…"

Dom and Inness laughed.

"What's the time?" Kel asked.

"The sixth hour," Inness replied.

Kel jumped to her feet swearing. "I've got lessons to attend!"

"Lessons?" Dom exclaimed. "Now? After you've just got back?"

"Yeah," Kel said, climbing down the ladder. "My Warrior Lord is strict, and he wants to work on the battle strategy for the army. After having lost so many men we'll need a completely different strategy. I've got to help him." Kel dashed off to Jamil's study.

"Dom, is that really Kel?" Neal asked.

Dom and Inness nodded.

"Yeah," Dom said.

"Where on earth did she get the idea we didn't want to be her friends?" Neal asked.

Dom shrugged. "I've no idea, I guess if you have a lot of time to think about something, you can convince yourself of something that isn't true. That was what Kel had done, at least that was what I presume she has done."

"Why did she tell you first?" Merric demanded.

"She didn't," Dom replied.

"What?" Roald asked in surprise. "Then who did she tell?"

"Joren," Dom replied quietly, waiting for the outburst.

It came in the form of Neal. "_What_?" he yelled, his emerald eyes flashing wildly. "Why'd she tell him?"

"I dunno," Dom replied shrugging his shoulders. "Ask her."

A messenger ran panting into the stables below calling, "Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle?"

"Here," Dom yelled.

"Lord Raoul says he wants you ready to ride yesterday! There's been an attack and he's taking the Third Company out," the messenger shouted up.

"Going," Dom yelled and vaulted down the ladder and headed off to the Own's stables.


	7. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton.

**A/N:** Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've tried to sort out everything, but I'm no where near perfect so I'm sure you'll be able to find some mistakes. I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…

Chapter six: Old friends 

****

Neal watched as Kel walked into the mess hall in the morning for breakfast. She looked around wildly, spotted him and walked over slowly.

"Hi Neal, where's Dom?" she asked, staring at the floor and refusing to meet his eyes.

"He got called away last night," Neal replied. "Why don't you get your breakfast and come and sit with us?"

Kel hesitated, but said, "okay."

A few minutes later she returned, and slid into the seat that used to be hers when she was a page.

"Hi Kel," Neal said nervously. "How are you?"

"Fine," she replied tonelessly and began to eat, still not meeting Neal's eyes. Suddenly she remembered something. "When do you take your Ordeal?"

"This mid-winter." He took his Ordeal before Kel took her Tribulation because Kel was a year behind him. Neal was a fourth year squire now, and Kel was only a third year _calawabi_. "When do you take your thingy?" Neal asked, struggling to remember the name for the Yamani version of the Ordeal.

"This time next year. And it's called a Tribulation Neal, not a thingy."

Neal grinned. "I could never remember Yamani words."

Kel laughed. "You're the same as ever then."

Neal took a deep breath. "Friends?"

Kel stared at him. "I-I-I don't know," she admitted, and went back to playing with her food.

Neal looked disappointed. "Look, Kel..."

"Don't call me that!" Kel ordered. "I don't want anyone else to know who I am. Okay?"

"Okay," Neal said shocked.

"Good," Kel said sweetly. "You were saying?"

"Look, we all regret not trying harder to find you. And as I said last night, you don't know how much we missed you. I ended up with so much punishment work because I was constantly think about you and doing stupid things during training."

Kel laughed at this.

"And…well…I wouldn't blame you for running away. I mean, who wants to be escorted away from the palace by a servant. Look where it got you. I don't know about you, but I think you've done very well. Friends?"

Kel sighed. "I don't know. It's probably tempting fate, you'll probably all end up dead. I think I'm cursed you know," she said seriously.

"Nah," Neal replied light-heartedly. "You're not cursed, just unlucky. Anyway, I've got no intention of dying just yet. I've got to pass my Ordeal."

Kel laughed. "Okay, friends."

"What about the others?" Neal asked.

"I-I...No," Kel said. "Not now."

Neal looked at her carefully. "Okay," he said, understanding in his voice.

"Thanks. So, what are you doing today?"

"Well Lady Alanna wants me to work on combat skills with her," Neal said, gloom deep in his voice.

Kel laughed. "I pity you Neal. She's got a temper, and is a mean hand with a sword."

"I know." Neal sounded so glum about training with Alanna. Then he brightened. "But I pity you more, Lord Jamil is such a slave driver."

"Maybe." Kel replied with a slight smile. "Maybe it looks like that to you, but that's the sort of discipline and work that Yamani Warrior are trained to do. We obey without question."

"So do squires and pages," Neal pointed out.

"Yes, but our obeying is different to yours," Kel said quietly. "Once the Emperor had a _calawabi_ and he asked him to get him food. The _calawabi_ fell over on the way to the kitchens and the Emperor had him executed because in his eyes, he didn't obey immediately."

Neal whistled. "Seriously?" Kel nodded. "The Emperor doesn't sound like a nice man."

"He isn't," Kel responded. "He'll execute as many people as possible. Once, he ordered the execution of a group of bandits and that wasn't too bad, but when we turned up at the execution, we found out he was also executing the bandits wives and children."

"That's horrible!" Neal protested. Then he shook his head trying to clear a thought from his head. "I though you just said 'when _we_ turned up at the execution', I must have heard wrong."

Kel shook her head. "Nope, you didn't. I did say we, and I meant it. Do you want me to be more specific? When my mother and father, my sisters and I, turned up at the execution."

"_You_ went to an execution?" Neal said in amazement.

Kel made a face. "Yes. It was...it was horrible, but we had no choice. The Emperor favoured our family, and ordered us to come."

"He shows his favour by ordering you to go and see people die?" Neal asked horrified.

"Yes. Most Yamani's would die to get a place at an execution."

Neal expressed his distaste in no uncertain words.

Lady Alanna walked up. "Come on squire, finish that meal. You've got work to be doing."

Neal groaned, but stuffed a few last mouthfuls of soup into his mouth and stood.

Alanna turned towards Kel. "Jhedy? That is your name isn't it?" She continued when Kel nodded. "I've asked your Warrior Lord of you could train with us and he says you may. You don't mind do you?"

Inside Kel was vowing to tear her Warrior Lord to shreds, something she knew she'd never do, but outwardly she looked perfectly calm. "No my Lady, I don't mind."

"Good," Alanna said. "Get your weapons, and meet me at the training yards." She turned to Neal, "That includes you."

Neal expression betrayed exactly what he though of the Lioness at that moment. Kel had to put her hand over her mouth so they couldn't see her grinning. Alanna walked off, leaving Kel and Neal behind.

Kel immediately started laughing.

"What?" Neal demanded crossly.

"You should have seen your face!" Kel said struggling to stop laughing.

- - -

A few minutes later, Kel wasn't laughing. She was standing face to face with her old heroine, holding her mace, dagger, sword, glaive (retrieved from Dom's room), bow and arrows, and her lance.

"This enough weapons my Lady?" she asked.

Alanna stared down in awe at all the weapons. "You own all of these?"

"Yes," Kel replied shortly. "My Warrior Lord insisted that I was kitted out as a soldier was, so he gave some of these to me, the others I bought."

Alanna looked at the girl. "Why do you need to be kitted out like a soldier?"

Kel stared at the older woman. "I've spent the last three years in an army. If I didn't have these, I'd be dead now. I wouldn't have survived a week."

"I thought you were a _calawabi_, not a soldier," Alanna said almost suspiciously.

"I am," Kel replied. "But my Warrior Lord is the leader of the Yamani army, so I travel with them. I'll join them once I take my Tribulation next year."

Alanna nodded her understanding. "My squire takes his Ordeal this mid-winter."

"I know my Lady," Kel informed her. "He told me."

"I didn't think you two got along."

"We kind of sorted that out this morning," Kel said slowly.

Neal grinned. "Notice the 'kind of' my Lady."

Kel elbowed him in the ribs. "Shut up Neal, or I'll knock your head off."

"Oooh," he said sarcastically. "I'm scared."

"You should be," Kel said, spinning around, and unsheathing her sword and placing the tip against his neck.

Neal laughed, and held up his hands. "I yield."

A messenger interrupted. "_Calawabi_ Jhedy, Warrior Lord Jamil says that once you have finished your training here, you are to go and see him about the upcoming ball."

Kel cursed fluently in Yamani, using language that she had learnt from the palace guardsmen. Then she composed herself. "Very well. Tell him I will be there once I have finished here."

The messenger nodded, and walked away.

Alanna looked at the girl with new admiration. "Where did you learn language like that? Why do you hate balls so much?"

"I learnt that language from various people, when you live around Yamani warriors for so long, you do tend to pick up things like that. And as for the balls, they're a waste of time," Kel said honestly.

"At last, somebody that agrees with me and Raoul!" Alanna said. She passed Neal his sword, "Come on, let's see what you can do."

Kel stepped back, to allow Alanna to fight him.

"Oh no," Alanna said with mirth heavy in her voice. "You're fighting him."

"Please my Lady," Kel said. "Do we need to do this?"

"Yes," Alanna replied shortly. "Just swords."

With a sigh, Kel stepped forwards, and saluted Neal.

"Guard," she whispered, and brought her sword down by her legs.

Neal stared in surprise. Kel won't be able to defend like that, he thought.

In a sudden movement, Kel's sword snaked up and knocked his sword out of his hand and then she slowly placed her sword against his neck.

"I think I won Neal," she said to his shocked face.

Alanna couldn't help but laugh. "Honestly Neal!"

Neal growled at her.

Kel didn't allow her smile to reach her face or her eyes. She stayed Yamani calm.

"If you don't mind my Lady, Squire Neal, I shall go and see my Warrior Lord."


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter seven: The Ball**

Kel rapped on Neal's door. He had left a note in her room, asking her to come and see him when she had the chance.

"Come in," he yelled, his voice was slightly muffled by the door between them.

She walked into the room. "Hi Neal," she said and then was struck by something. He was just lying on his bed, reading a book. Normally he would have been running around madly, trying to get his uniform straightened or something similar. "Why aren't you getting ready to serve at the ball?"

"I don't have to serve at this one. It's my night off, but I've still got to attend," he explained. "Look Kel, I asked you to come here, because Alanna has just ordered me to escort you to the Ball."

"Oh lovely!" Kel said in dry tones. She sighed. "I guess I better get going, I've got to get ready."

- - -

"_Calawabi_ Lady Jhedy of the Yamani Islands and her escort Squire Nealan of Queenscove," the herald called.

Kel sighed and she and Neal started down the steps to the hall. She had her stone mask on and looked like any other Yamani in her pale kimono. What no one could see and no one knew about, were the concealed weapons under her kimono. She had seven throwing knives and her sword in various places.

She curtsied and Neal bowed to the King and Queen and then to Roald who was staring at Kel. For a moment she allowed her mask to drop, and she grinned at him. He grinned back.

"Kel!" Neal hissed. "You shouldn't have done that. Someone will realise that something's up!"

Kel shrugged. "Maybe I shouldn't have, it's too late now."

Neal sighed, and waved to Dom as he approached them.

"Hello Kel, Meathead," he said, bowing to Kel.

Kel giggled at the look of outrage on Neal's face. "Do not call me that in public!" He hissed.

Dom shrugged. "I'll think about it." He turned to Kel. "May I have this dance?" He asked grandly, as a small orchestra struck up a tune.

"Em..." Kel said. She wasn't sure how to reply. "Sure."

Dom grinned, and took her and led her to the dance floor.

After four dances, Kel and Dom made their way off of the dance floor, and went in search of Neal. Dom still had his hand around her waist like he did when they had been dancing, but Kel made no move to tell him to remove it.

-  - -

The ball was nearing its end, when there was a yell.

Kel spun around to see four men standing by the King, Queen and Roald. Three held knives and had them pressed up against the necks of the Royalty. The fourth held a cross bow, and was pointing it at the audience.

"Do not move," he said his voice low and quiet.

Kel knew the knights in the room wouldn't obey that order. She also knew that they weren't armed. She was.

Quietly she got to the floor and crawled nearer the front, she unsheathed her sword, and took out her throwing knives. When she was only ten feet away from the man with the crossbow, she threw them.

Two landed with a thud in his chest, and one went into his cheek. Two more landed in the chest of the man by Roald and the other two in the man who was threatening the Queen.

With a war cry, Kel jumped up, flinging herself on top of the man by the King's side. He threw her off with a fast Shang move. Suddenly the man unsheathed his sword and he and Kel engaged in a fast moving sword battle in front of the amazed watchers.

Kel twisted and turned, desperately looking for an opening to kill him. He did the same and to Kel's dismay, it appeared that he was more skilled than she was.

She swore lightly and took a huge risk. In one quick movement she threw her sword at his chest, and fell down on the floor at the man's feet.

The watching knights gasped. To them it seemed like a stupid move, to throw yourself at your enemies feet was suicide.

Kel sighed, they didn't understand. In the Yamani Islands, that was a common move among the Emperor's Warriors, but it took a lot of skill to pull off successfully. As soon as her sword entered the mans chest, she pulled him down to the floor, pulled her sword out of him, and slit his throat.

Neal came forward and helped her to her feet. To his surprise he found she was shaking.

"What's the matter Jhedy?" he asked in alarm.

Kel smiled weakly. "I think I got injured." She started to sway slightly, and Neal put both of his arms around her to stop her from falling.

"Where?" he demanded, the Healer's side of him taking over.

"I don't quite know," Kel admitted thickly. She looked down at her stomach, and saw a growing red patch of blood. "My stomach."

Neal took one look at the amount of blood that she had lost and pulled her out of the room, yelling for Alanna to come to help him.

Kel suddenly remembered that Neal had the healing gift. "That won't help me now," She muttered to herself. She knew she had lost too much blood. She was dying.

- - -

Back in the ballroom, the King stepped over the dead bodies, and called for silence.

"Does anyone know who that girl is?" he asked, his commanding voice giving him the silence that he asked for.

Roald stared at his father. "She is Keladry of Mindelan sire," he replied hesitantly in his own quiet way. "The girl that you put on probation, the one Lord Wyldon got rid of. She is also Warrior Lord Jamil of the Yamani Islands _calawabi_."

Jon gasped. The girl that should by all means hate him had just saved his life.

"I wish to reward her," he said almost pompously. "Once she has been checked by healers, Roald, I want you to bring her to me."

"Yes Sire," Roald said with a nod to his father.

- - -

Alanna gasped in horror at the huge cut on Kel's stomach. She looked at the now unconscious girl.

"Jhedy! Jhedy! Can you hear me?" she asked anxiously.

Neal shook his head. "Try calling her Kel."

Alanna looked at her squire puzzled.

"Not now," Neal ordered. "I'll explain later. We need to help her now."

"Kel! Kel!" Alanna called urgently.

There was no reply from the unconscious girl.

Alanna sighed, and rolled the sleeves up on her dress and knelt down by the bed. "Come on Neal. It's going to be a long night."

Neal looked at Alanna, and saw worry in her violet eyes. "Will she live?" he asked quietly. He loved her, not in the way that his cousin obviously did, but as a friend. He didn't want to see her die.

Alanna looked him straight in the eye, "I really don't know."

Neal bit his lip. "That's Keladry of Mindelan, you know."

Alanna looked at her squire in surprise. "Explain," she ordered. "On second thoughts, save that until we've healed her."

Neal nodded and knelt down beside Alanna. Together they let their magic stream from their fingers, the green mingling with the purple, and entering Kel's body.

Hours later, Neal started to sway.

Alanna's eyes flicked to her squire. "Go to bed, now," she ordered.

"But..." Neal protested.

"Now!" Alanna said firmly. "I can handle this."

"She'll live?" Neal asked anxiously.

Alanna nodded. "She'll live. Now, get yourself to bed before I have to heal you too."

Neal nodded, and walked shakily out of Alanna's room and through the door to his own.

- - -

A few days later, Kel stood in the King's study, Dom's arm around her waist helping her to stand. She was still very weak, but the King had insisted on seeing her as soon as she could stand.

"Thank-you Lady Keladry, I am in debt to you," the King said softly in a voice that reminded Kel of his son.

Kel half smiled at him. "Please, I am no lady, I am just Kel."

Jon opened his mouth to protest, but then thought better of it. "Then call me Jon," he said.

"I..." Kel wasn't sure whether she could do that. She had spent a long time hating the man in front of her, and she hadn't even met him. Now that she had met him, she didn't know why she had hated him. He was a really kind man, a bit arrogant, but otherwise nice. "Yes Jon," she said.

Dom tightened his grip around her waist, his way of telling her she was doing well.

Kel smiled at him, and turned back to Jon.

"Look, I'll get straight to the point." Jon cleared his throat. "I want to reward you; you saved my life, my wife's life, and my son's life."

"Sire," Kel said, forgetting to call him Jon. "I don't need to be rewarded."

"But I must," Jon protested. "What do you want? Land? Money? A title? An honoury knighthood?"

Kel gasped. He had her on the last one, but... "I'd love that sir, but I couldn't. It wouldn't be right. I haven't completed my page, or my Squire years!"

Jon looked at her as if she were mad. "You completed one page year, then did four years as a _narwabi_ and have done three and a half years as a _calawabi_, altogether you have had eight and a half years training. That is more than enough. Just because they weren't all Tortallan doesn't mean that you aren't qualified."

"I-I..." Kel stuttered, lost for words. "I still have my tribulation to undergo. And then I have a service to the Emperor."

"I am aware of that. I was speaking with your Warrior Lord, and I understand that in six months you take your Tribulation. Am I right?"

Kel nodded. "Yes."

"After that, your Warrior Lord says he is willing to let you have time off to come here. Then you will enter the Chamber of Ordeal," Jon explained. "That is, if you want to."

Kel looked towards Dom. She was confused. She had spent the last seven years of her life coming to terms with the fact that she couldn't become a knight, and now, she was being offered that chance again. "What should I do?" she asked Dom softly.

Dom shrugged. "I can't make that decision for you. But think about it, you've always wanted to be a knight, you admitted that to me."

Kel nodded, remembering the night she had told Dom. "Yeah, I know. But how would I juggle being a knight and a Warrior? I mean, I've seen the sort of life that the Warriors live. They hardly ever have the chance to relax. Their life is so hectic, because the Emperor just doesn't have enough men to allow them time off."

"Just do what you think is best," Dom advised. "We'll all respect your decision whatever you do."

Kel took a deep breath and turned to Jon. "Sire, I can't take you up on your offer. Thank-you, but my loyalty is to the Yamani Islands, I can't go back on the oath of loyalty I took when I became a _narwabi_."

Jon nodded gravely. "I understand your choice, and I respect the loyalty you have, and the courage that it took to make such a hard decision."

Kel smiled at the King.

"But, if you won't let me reward you, at least let me reward you family."

Kel looked at the monarch curiously. "What do you mean?"

"What do your family need the most? More land? Money?"

"I can't make that decision," Kel replied. "I would have to write and ask them."

Jon smiled. "There is no need for that. They arrive tomorrow. We wrote to them and told them what you had done and that you were injured."

Kel fought to keep the happiness out of her face. She hadn't seen her family in ages. It would be great to see them again.

"You can go," Jon said. "I'll see you again I expect."

Kel walked sedately to the door, followed by Dom. But when she was outside, she squealed with happiness, and Dom swept her up in a huge hug.

"I can't believe it!" she squealed happily. "They're coming!"


	9. Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton.

**A/N:** Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've tried to sort out everything, but I'm no where near perfect so I'm sure you'll be able to find some mistakes. I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…

**Chapter Eight: Family******

Kel sat on the edge of her bed and rubbed her hazel eyes.  It was starting to become obvious that midwinter was approaching, the room was chilly. Kel started to stand up, yelped and leapt back onto the bed as quick as possible; the stone floor was freezing! Steeling herself, she ran nimbly across the cold floor and over to the hearth. She quickly lit the fire, and pulled on her clothes. Then she took down her practise glaive from the rack and gave it a swing. Satisfied that it was in working order, she moved the chairs and the desk to the corner of the room, leaving a large empty space of floor. Kel readjusted her grip on the glaive so that she was holding it tight enough to keep it in her hands, but loose enough to allow her to swing it easily. Then she stepped into the middle of her room.

Kel launched herself into the most common practise dance, completing it with ease that came with many years work. Her glaive spun so fast it was a blur, but one that Kel was completely in control of. She finished only inches away from the wall, and was about to launch into another dance when a voice startled her.

"If I'd ever thought about attacking you, I'd think again," the voice remarked without its usual dryness.

Kel turned around, a grin on her face. "Neal, it's nice to see you." She saw his face, and took a step back. "What's the matter?"

His face was white, and his emerald eyes shone with something that looked out of place on him, worry. "They just read the order for the Chamber," he said, his voice trembling. "It's my turn in three nights."

Kel looked at him sympathetically. She knew the Chamber was bad, that it found your flaws and ripped them open, but that was all she knew. No one could talk of it, no one _would_ talk of it. The Tribulation was a different matter, you could talk about that, but people rarely did. It was bad; you could see your future in it, what was coming up. Some said you could feel yourself dying. She didn't know what to say to Neal. "You'll be fine," she murmured quietly. "Now, forget about it for the moment, and come to breakfast with me."

Neal nodded, and followed Kel out of her room.

They met Dom in the mess hall, and he clapped Neal on the back. He'd heard the news too. "Just try not to scare the Chamber too much Meathead." Dom piled food onto his plate, and started to eat.

Neal managed a grin, and followed suite.

There was a tap on her shoulder, and Kel turned around. Standing behind her was the giant redhead.

"So, how's the King's saviour today?" he asked a wide grin on his face as he sat down.

Kel rolled her eyes. "_Kel_ is fine today thanks."

Cleon sat down opposite her. "So what did the King want yesterday?" he asked curiously.

"He tried to reward her," a quiet voice informed him from the other side of Kel. Kel turned to see Roald.

"Hey Roald. How are you?" Kel asked.

"I'm fine thanks. How are you? Shouldn't you still be in bed?" Roald asked suspiciously.

Kel glanced over to where Neal was. "Probably, but don't say it too loud, or Neal'll make me go back to bed and I don't want to."

Roald smothered a grin, and Neal looked at them in askance. "You don't want to know," Roald told him.

Neal sighed, and turned back to his conversation with Merric.

"So Kel, what did the King offer you?" Cleon asked.

"Em…land, money, a title, an honoury knighthood, and land and money for my family," Kel said.

Cleon whistled under his breath. "He really does like you, doesn't he?"

"Well she did save my life, and the life of my mother and father, didn't she?" Roald said. "But father said you weren't going to accept it."

Kel nodded. "I don't need to be rewarded, but I told him to ask my family what they need."

"That's nice," Cleon observed.

"They need it," Kel said bluntly. "Mindelan needs repairs, and badly. At least, it did when I was last there, but that was seven, maybe eight years ago. You'd probably know better Cleon. What was it like when you last went?"

"The roads have been repaired, but there's still a lot of work that needs doing," Cleon replied honestly.

"And – my parents, how are they?" Kel asked hesitantly.

"The last time I saw them they were fine Kel," Cleon reassured her.

Kel half smiled. "Good. I'm glad." Then her eyes widened. "I forgot! It's today!"

"Em…yes Kel, it is today, it isn't yesterday, or tomorrow," Neal said with a bemused expression on his face.

"No, I meant it's today my family arrive!" Kel said happily. "They're coming to see me."

"Who's coming?" Cleon asked. As Inness' ex-Squire, he knew Kel's family well.

"Em…I don't know," Kel realised. "Mama and Papa obviously, Anders might come, I don't know. I don't think Adalia will come, when she last wrote, she said that she was getting married to some person from Nond."

Cleon nodded. "Yeah, she got married to second son, Francis or something like that."

Dom stood up, and gave his tray to the kitchen staff. On his way out of the room, he placed a hand on Kel's shoulder.

"I'll meet you at noon for some practise at the Own's yards," he said quietly, his voice deliberately pitched low so that Neal shouldn't hear.

"Sure, I'll see you there," Kel said as he walked away.

Neal cleared his throat. "What did I just hear about you practising?" It seemed that Dom hadn't spoken quiet enough.

"I'm meeting Dom to practise," Kel said.

"You shouldn't be practising. I shouldn't have let you get up in the first place," Neal said sharply.

"You didn't object to me practising this morning!" Kel retorted.

"I wasn't in any mood to object!" Neal growled. "You will not practise."

Kel just stared at him.

"Okay," he gave in. "You can practise, just don't over do it so I have to heal you again!"

"I promise," Kel said and got up to give her tray to the kitchen staff.

"What are you doing now?" Neal asked, getting up with her.

"Don't know," Kel said. "My Warrior Lord said he wanted to see me at the eleventh bell of the morning. So I've got three hours to spare."

"You can come with me then. I've got to look after Owen's horse for him. He's ill, so said I'd do it until he was better."

"Sure," Kel agreed.

- - -

They were brushing down Owen's horse when there was the sound of chatter, and the stable doors burst open and the pages tumbled into the stables, sedately followed by Wyldon.

"Queenscove, what are you doing in here?" he demanded.

"I'm grooming Owen's horse for him, my Lord, just until he's feeling well again," Neal replied.

Kel stood up from the other side of the horse.

"Ah, Mindelan," Wyldon said uncomfortably.

Kel winced. There was no hiding from anyone who she was now. Everyone knew exactly who she was since she saved Jon's life. "Yes, my Lord?" she asked.

"Can I have a word with you in a minute?" he asked slowly.

"Of course, my Lord," Kel replied politely, slightly confused.

Wyldon nodded to her, and then turned to the pages that had been standing staring at Tortall's new hero. "Get a move on! There'll be plenty chances to gawk at Lady Kel in the future."

Neal grinned at her. "He's calling you Kel now."

Kel swatted him. "Probably because the King insisted that he treats me with respect now." She followed Wyldon out of the stable and stood watching as he instructed the pages in staff combat.

He strode up and down the lines of the pages, correcting faults and occasionally praising them.

Kel saw a boy who was holding his staff wrong. She vaulted over the fence and approached him.

"What's your name?" she asked.

The page looked startled that she was talking to him. "W-Warric, my Lady. Warric of Mandash."

"I'm Kel," she said. It was probably unnecessary to introduce herself, no doubt he knew exactly who she was. "Now, you're doing that wrong, you're hands aren't in the right place."

"Well where do they go?" he asked, regarding his hands with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Here." Kel repositioned his hands on his staff. "Right, run through the drill again, keeping your hands in the right place."

Warric started to swing his staff quickly.

"Stop!" Kel yelled. "Your hands are in the wrong place again. Pass your staff." She took out her belt knife, and roughened up the wood where Warric's hands should stay. "Keep your hands there, and do the exercises slowly until your hands stay on the rough part for the whole exercise, only then can you speed it up."

Warric nodded, and started the exercise slowly.

"You teach well Keladry," a voice said from behind her.

Kel turned around and saw Lord Wyldon. "Thank-you, my Lord."

"I just wanted to apologise for not allowing you to continue your page training." He sounded oddly humble and it wasn't a tone that suited him.

"It's okay, my Lord. I enjoy what I do now," Kel said honestly.

Wyldon nodded, "And congratulations on your actions at the ball."

"Thank-you, my Lord." A bell tolled in the castle, and Kel looked towards the sun. "I need to leave now, my Lord. My Warrior Lord wishes to see me now."

"Okay, and…well done Keladry," Lord Wyldon said awkwardly.

- - -

Kel sat in a chair opposite Jamil.

"Are you sure you're feeling fine?" Jamil asked doubtfully.

Kel nodded. "Yes, my Warrior Lord. I'm fine."

Jamil sighed. He obviously didn't believe her, but knew he'd be here all day trying to get her to admit to being unwell. "Very well," he said. "What did you say to the King? Have you chosen the honoury knighthood?"

Kel shook her head. "No, my Warrior Lord. My loyalty is to the Yamani Islands, I couldn't possibly be a knight and a Yamani Warrior."

Jamil allowed a grin to slip through his mask. "Well done Kel. I know that must have been a hard decision to make."

"It was, but I'm happy with my decision." Her voice was the same as always, a quiet tone with the usual Yamani evenness.

"Good. Now, we need to decide when we're going back to Yaman. Your Tribulation isn't for another six months so we don't need to go back quite yet, but we need to decide when we will go back," Jamil explained. "Because we will need to find someone else to guard the Princess whilst we are gone."

"Well," Kel said. "My family are coming to stay at the palace for a while, and I would like to see them because I haven't seen my parents in ages."

"Will your parents be coming to see your Tribulation?" Jamil asked.

"I hope so, my Warrior Lord," Kel replied.

"Then we can all go to the Islands together. That way you will see more of them."

"Thank-you, my Warrior Lord."

"You may go know Kel. I think your friend is waiting for you." He looked out the window to where Dom was standing at the fence to the practise yard.

Kel bowed, and left the room.

- - -

"I win!" Kel said, victorious for the second time.

Dom grinned at her, and lowered his sword. "I'm going to have to challenge you to something that you can't do!"

Kel shrugged. "If you want to."

"Kel!" a familiar voice yelled.

Kel spun around to see Anders limping towards her. "Anders!" she cried and ran over to him. He hugged her, and stood away from her.

"You've grown," he said at last.

"I know." Kel grinned widely.

"And who is this person that you've been torturing?" Anders asked as he spotted Dom and his sword.

Kel beckoned to Dom, and said to Anders, "This is Domitan of Masbolle, sergeant of the Third Company of the King's Own Guard." Then she turned to Dom. "This is my brother Anders."

"Pleasure to meet you," Anders said as he shook Dom's hand.

"And to meet you," Dom replied.

"Where are mama and papa?" Kel asked eagerly.

"They're coming; they came by carriage though, so they were slightly slower," Anders explained.

Kel grinned. "Come on, let's go meet them." She walked off, with Anders trailing behind. Suddenly she stopped and turned back to Dom. "Aren't you coming?"

"I…" he started to say.

Kel sighed, and ran over to him. Taking him by the hand she tugged him with her. "Honestly Dom, we'll be late to meet them if you take much longer!"

"But are you sure you want me to come with you? Don't you want to meet them on your own?" Dom asked worriedly.

"No," Kel said simply. "I haven't seen them in ages, I feel like I hardly know them anymore. Come on!"

- - -

They stood in the courtyard waiting for the Baron and his wife to arrive.

"So how are you Kel?" Anders asked.

"Do I have to assure everyone I'm okay?" Kel asked exasperatedly. "I'm fine."

There was the rattling of carriage wheels, and a carriage entered the courtyard. The driver got down and opened the door and Kel's mother climbed out gracefully.

"Hello Kel," Ilane of Mindelan said quietly.

"Hello mama," Kel replied as she bowed Yamani style to her mother and then to her father as he climbed out of the carriage. "Papa."

"You're a proper Yamani woman now, aren't you?" her father commented.

Kel shook her head. "No papa, I'm a Yamani Warrior."

Her father grinned. "True. And who's this?" He gestured to Dom.

"This is Dom, one of my friends. He's Sergeant of the Third Company of the King's Own."

Dom bowed to Piers, and then to Ilane. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Piers nodded. "And you. It's nice to meet some of Kel's friends."

"You remember Neal mama?" Kel asked. When her mother nodded, she continued, "Well this is his cousin."

Ilane smiled. "And how is Cleon?"

"Fine mama," Kel replied. "Shall we go inside?"

- - -

"Your family are nice," Dom commented as they waited inside the chapel waiting for Neal to exit the Chamber of Ordeal.

"I know," Kel replied quietly. "I just wish I could see more of them." She turned so she could see the door to the Chamber. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"I think so," Dom said. "He's tough, he'll survive."

Kel glanced over to where Duke Baird sat, his face taut. By his side sat Yuki, Kel's Yamani friend, and Neal's current love.

"He'll be fine," Kel repeated over and over. She couldn't bear the thought of losing another friend. Losing Ked, Salin, and Jhedy was bad enough.

The door to the Chamber creaked open, and Kel tensed. Dom looked at her and saw her worry; he placed an arm around her shoulder and held her tightly.

Neal stumbled out of the Chamber, in a bad state, but alive.

"See," Dom said gently. "He's fine." He took Kel's hand, and they went to help Duke Baird carry Neal to his rooms.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton.

**A/N:** Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've tried to sort out everything, but I'm no where near perfect so I'm sure you'll be able to find some mistakes. I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…

**Chapter Nine: Traitor!**

Ednar, the Emperor's son, walked slowly into the Chamber of Tribulation and the door closed behind him. Immediately the voices assaulted him, their voices harsh, yet beautiful.

_"This is not what was meant for her!"_

_"You are right, but how often can we interfere with the affairs of mortals?"_

_"She is right, the last time you tried to interfere there was an earthquake!"_

_"I am the Goddess of Destiny!" The voice was angry now. "I say it is not her destiny, it should change. Do something about it. Now!"_

_A new voice entered the conversation. "I will, just give me time, and the right person!" That voice wasn't really a person, more a spirit._

Ednar writhed on the floor in agony, the voices hurt his ears! And what were they talking about? None of this had anything to do with his future! The bare walls in front of him vanished, and he found himself somewhere else.

_There was a Tortallan army advancing at him, and at its head was a woman. Her brown hair was short and she had determined hazel eyes. Shocked, he recognised the woman as Kel, his year mate, and friend when he was seven. She signalled, and the army halted. There was a loud cry._

_"Commander, over there!__ A Yamani fleet!"_

_"Are you sure it's them?" she asked quickly._

_"It's definitely them," a man at her right confirmed. Green magic sparkled around him._

_"Right, to your places men!__ Don't let them near the town!" Kel yelled, and rode hard for the hill with her men trailing behind her._

_"Mithros be with you Kel," the sparkling green magic man said to her._

_"And with you Neal.__ Make sure you come out alive, or Yuki'll have my head!" she joked._

_"What about Dom having mine?" the man identified as Neal retorted._

What was going on? This wasn't his future, or his past! This had nothing to do with him. And why in the name of the Gods of Fire and Ice was Kel in charge of a Tortallan fleet that was going after a Yamani fleet of ships? She had sworn an oath of allegiance to the Yamani Islands when she became a _narwabi_! Was she traitorous? Was she helping the Tortallans to invade Yaman?

_Ednar found himself inside his body this time, and in front of him was a vast expanse of hills, behind him an army of men, and to his left a town. He ordered his men to the town._

_"Now!" came a yell out of the trees._

_There was the thundering sound of horses' hooves, and men dressed in the Tortallan blues and silvers raced out onto the path in front of them._

_Ednar drew his sword, and found himself face to face with a woman, Kel.___

_"Traitor!" he snarled, and slashed at her, but she defended superbly, and his men were outnumbered. An arrow hit his back, and he faltered. Kel took advantage of this, and took his head off with her sword. Everything went black._

Ednar gasped for breath, and felt his back. It was sore, just where he could have sworn an arrow hit him, and there was a huge hole there. He felt for his head. It was still there. The walls flashed in front of him again, and he heard more voices.

_"Have you done something?"_

_"Of course," the spirit voice snarled. "What do you take me for?"_

_"Who did you use?"_

_"Who else but someone the Emperor will listen to.__ Prince Ednar."_

_"Good. I hope he understands what you mean him to do."_

_"I would think my message was rather clear," the spirit voice said snottily. "I have been doing this for centuries."_

_"And I have seen you mess it up for centuries," the other voice retorted._

_"Don't complain," the spirit voice growled. "Or next time, I'll leave you to sort out your own mess!"_

What was going on? Kel couldn't be traitorous, could she?

The door to the Chamber opened, and Ednar stumbled out. As his best friend caught him, he sighed with relief.

"Are you okay?" Ervin asked.

"I'll be fine, but I need to see my father," Ednar said with urgency. "I must."

- - -

Dom hugged Kel tight, his blue eyes alight with worry.

"Now, you're sure you'll be okay?" he asked.

Kel grinned and disentangled herself from Dom. "Yes, I'll be fine. Neal came out of the Chamber fine, so I'll be fine."

"Kel, the boat's leaving!" Jamil yelled.

"Coming," she replied and ran towards the boat that would be taking them to the Yamani Islands. As she ran up the boarding plank, she turned and waved to Dom. "I'll see you when I get back!"

Dom grinned back at her, but Kel could see he wasn't his usual self, he was uneasy, he was worried for her.

- - -

The Emperor stared at his son. "You are sure it was her?" he asked suspiciously. Even he did not want to believe the worst of the Mindelan family, they were responsible for the peace between Tortall and the Islands.

Ednar nodded. "Yes, it was definitely her."

The Emperor stood up and shouted for his guards. "Tell the port officials that as soon as a ship carrying any member of the Mindelan family reaches Yamani waters they are to be killed."

Ednar hung his head as the guards ran off to do his father's bidding. What had he done? Kel might be traitorous, but they still used to be friends.

- - -

Kel leant against the railings, feeling the wind running through her hair, and for a moment, she felt completely free. The Islands were getting closer and closer, the Captain of the ship obviously wanted to get there as soon as possible. Or maybe her parents had told him to get them there fast. She allowed herself to grin, nobody from Yaman except the Emperor and his family would think about annoying her parents. They were such powerful and influential people.

"Nervous?" a voice inquired. It was Jamil.

Kel nodded. "Yes." She sighed and pushed herself away from the railings.

"You'll be fine, I'm sure," he said softly. "Besides, you've got to get back to Tortall to see that Sergeant." His mask held no trace of emotion, but Kel knew him well enough to know that he was teasing her.

"There isn't anything like that between us sir. We're friends."

Jamil raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

"Yes sir," Kel replied. "Why would you think anything else? And besides, who was it that always told all the _narwarbis_ never to get romantically involved with another warrior?"

Jamil grinned slightly. "I was actually talking to the boys Kel."

Kel shrugged. "You always treated me the same as them, did you expect me to disobey?"

Jamil sighed. "That is…" He suddenly broke off and leaned over the railing, trying to get a better look at a ship.

"It's one of the Emperor's ships, my Warrior Lord," Kel commented. "We have nothing to fear from them."

Jamil relaxed. "I know, but I couldn't quite see the sails. I had wondered whether they were pirates." He took another look at the ship that was heading towards them with such a speed that it looked like it had been possessed by a demon. "They're in a hurry, I wonder where they're going to?"

Kel glanced at the ship and saw a blue magic surrounding the sails. They were using magic to propel them through the water at three or four times the speed that a ship could travel.

Minutes later, the ship was to close for comfort.

"I think they're planning on coming aboard," Kel whispered to Jamil. She had no reason to whisper, but something told her that letting them know that they were watching would be bad.

It seemed that Jamil thought the same. He drew his sword, ready for battle.

As the ship pulled alongside Kel's ship and the men jumped over the small gap between the ships, she saw that they were armed to the teeth and all wore the armour that was issued to Warriors after their tribulation. They were Emperor's Warriors, just like she would be after her tribulation, so what were they doing on this ship armed like that? Had they mistaken this ship for a pirate ship, or maybe a drugs ship?

Her father stepped out from the cabin.

"Is there anything that we can help you with?" He was playing the diplomat.

"Piers of Mindelan?" one of them asked.

"Yes," Her father said, nodding slowly.

"Is the rest of your family aboard this ship?"

Piers took a step back, looking from Warrior to Warrior. "No. Only my wife and daughter."

"Your youngest daughter?" a Warrior wearing a dark blue band that signalled that he was on port duty asked. From her hiding place, Kel recognised him as Tait _noh_Firatumio, Ked's eldest brother. He had been her Warrior Lord for the first few months of her time as a _calawabi _until he got badly injured during a battle with pirates and had handed her training over to Jamil.

"Yes, Kel is on board," her father replied calmly although Kel could see him fighting the urge to throttle Tait, he was very protective of his daughters, Kel especially.

"Kel?" Tait yelled.

Kel exchanged glances with Jamil, and he motioned for her to step out from behind the cabin.

"Yes sir?" she asked gripping her sword tightly.

Tait smiled at her, and Kel immediately knew something was wrong. His smile was shaky and almost unsure. He made a small movement with his hand, and his men leapt into action. They went straight for Kel and her father.

Cursing, Kel started to defend. She was at a definite disadvantage, they were outnumbered and weren't wearing armour. As far as Kel knew, the only weapons on board were they ones that belonged to her and Jamil and then her mother's glaive.

Kel watched in horror as Tait ran his sword through her father's chest and blood poured from the horrific wound. Suddenly it became clear, they weren't here to arrest them, they were here to kill. Loosing control of her emotions, she yelled a vicious war cry and hacked one of the men to death.

She fought on, and at some point was conscious of Jamil joining her, and Tait telling him that if he didn't give himself up they would kill him as well. Jamil refused, and continued to fight, Kel wished he would just give himself up; she didn't want him dying for her. But then again, giving himself up or being captured would taint his honour, and she didn't want that either.

Three Warriors closed in on her so she had her back to the railings, Tait was one of them. He lunged at her, and she ducked to avoid his sword. He tumbled over the railings and into the Emerald Ocean. There was yelling as the Warriors realised that Tait had fallen overboard, and Kel found herself being picked up, and thrown deep into the ocean. As she turned around and swam to the ship, arrows rained down on her, preventing her from getting near the deck. She saw someone haul Tait onto the deck where he lay drenched and shivering, recovering from his dunking in the icy waters.

A weather mage conjured up a wind and blew the ship towards the Yamani Isles with her mother and Jamil still on board.

Spitting out a mouthful of salty water, Kel realised that there was no way she could head for the Yamani Islands, they wanted her dead. Instead, she turned roughly in the direction of Tortall and started to swim in long slow strokes.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton.

**A/N:** Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've tried to sort out everything, but I'm no where near perfect so I'm sure you'll be able to find some mistakes. I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…

**Chapter Ten: Pirate's Swoop**

Thom of Pirate's Swoop sighed and looked at his mage's robes in disgust. They never seemed to be clean, dirt just seemed to be attracted to them. It was really quite a pain, how was he meant to look like a grand and imposing mage if he had dirty robes on?

But, he thought to himself, it was his fault they were dirty this time. He hadn't _meant_ to leave them in the stables, he had just forgotten that they were there. He had come up with an interesting new theory concerning the metal machines and he had needed to write it down before he forgot.

Thom looked at himself in the mirror and sighed again.

"I'll never get any magic done if I'm this tired!" he complained.

"Well you know the answer to that, don't you?" a wry voice commented from the doorway.

Thom turned around to see Sir Nealan of Queenscove, his mother's ex-squire. Only the Goddess knew what he was doing back here. Thom considered himself one of the lucky ones. He had hardly seen Neal, he'd been too busy in the City of the Gods to come home.

"Go and sit in that nice sea you've got down there," Neal said, gesturing out of Thom's window to the Emerald Ocean. "That should sort your problem out."

Thom scowled, and for a moment looked just like his mother did when she was in a bad mood. Neal said as much and was promptly pushed out of the door by Thom.

As much as he hated to admit it, Neal was right. So, after much grumbling, Thom made his way down to the beach and sat in the cold sea.

At least my robes will be clean now, he thought sardonically as he shivered at the cold and tried to prepare himself to do a big magical working.

An hour later, it was all he could do not to curse. It seemed that the Gods were not with him today. Not only had they made Neal suggest he sit in this freezing water, it didn't seem to be doing any good! He couldn't even muster up enough power to do any serious magic.

Sighing, he stood up and waded out of the water while wrapping his drenched robe tightly around his shoulders. Looking up at his parent's house on the top of the cliffs in front of him he swore quietly. It was such a long way up. He had two choices, walk the long way around, or climb the cliff. He didn't feel like doing either of them, but he wasn't going to spend the night on the beach.

Suddenly a small noise caught his attention, quite a high pitched noise, almost like a baby whimpering. Cautiously, he tried to locate the sound. To his surprise it was a young woman, she was soaked through, and was coughing.

"Hello?" Thom asked quietly.

The woman didn't react.

Sighing, Thom picked her up and slowly made his way up to Swoop where he unceremoniously dumped the woman on one of the beds in Swoops infirmary then went in search of Maude.

- - -

Thom knew eavesdropping was a bad habit, but it was one he had picked up from his father and sometimes it was a very useful skill.

"Please, just tell me what you know. You must know something!" Thom heard the young woman ask desperately.

"You need some sleep, you've had a rather serious healing. Go to sleep," Thom heard Maude say. From years of experience he knew that Maude was hiding something from the woman, but what?

The door opened, and he struggled to get out of the way as Maude stepped out into the corridor.

She grinned at him. "She's awake, as you probably know, but she's not to be disturbed."

"Who is she?" Thom asked eagerly.

Maude sighed. "Must you be so nosy Thom?" She looked disapprovingly at him but answered his question anyway. "Keladry of Mindelan."

"I've heard mother mention her, wasn't she the one who wanted to become a knight?" Thom asked curiously.

"Yes," Maude replied, and started off down the corridor. "Remember, leave her alone!"

Thom looked hurt. "Why would I disobey you Maude?"

Maude raised her eyebrows. "You've done it so many times that I can't even begin to count!"

Thom scowled at her.

He waited until she was around the corner then slipped quietly into the infirmary.

"Hi," he said to the young woman.

She looked up at him, her eyes lifeless. "Hi."

Thom inwardly cursed, he knew that look. Only the Goddess knew how many times he had seen it. The soldiers wore it when they came back from the Scanran border, after they had seen so much death that they had almost lost the will to live.

"I'm Thom," Thom said, offering his hand for her to shake.

"I'm Kel," the woman said, shaking his hand. "It was you rescued me, right?"

Wordlessly Thom nodded.

"Well I guess I owe you thanks then," Kel said, trying to sit up in her bed.

"It doesn't matter," Thom said shrugging. "But…what were you doing in the sea in the first place?"

Kel smiled grimly. "Long story."

Thom looked at the sun. "It's barely noon, I think you have time to tell it."

Kel looked away. "I – I'd rather not."

Thom raised his eyes but said nothing.

"But…" Kel said, she seemed to be considering something.

"If you tell me why you were in the sea, I may be able to help you with whatever it was that you wanted to know," Thom said slyly.

"You were eavesdropping!" Kel accused.

Thom shrugged. "It's useful sometimes, how else am I meant to know what's going on?"

Kel grinned slightly. "I guess you have a point," she conceded.

"I know I do," Thom said pompously. "Now, what were you doing in the sea?"

Kel tried to prevent that line of questioning. "I thought the healer said that I needed to rest? You shouldn't be disobeying a healer."

Thom shrugged. "I've been disobeying Maude since I could crawl, I hardly think I'm going to suddenly have a change of heart!"

Kel sighed as she realised that she wasn't going to be able to avoid his questioning. "I was on a boat headed for the Islands," she said quietly. "A band of the Emperor's Chosen Warriors boarded our boat, they killed my father and tossed me overboard and left me to die. My mother and Warrior Lord were still on the ship when the Warriors took the ship towards the Islands. That was the last I saw of them."

Thom was quiet for a while then he asked, "What was it that you wanted to know?"

Kel took a deep breath. "I – I want to know what happened to my father. Yes, I know he's dead, but where's his body? I don't think it was on the boat when it left, so that must mean they threw it overboard. It must have washed up on a beach somewhere, I want it back. He needs a proper burial."

Thom nodded slowly. "I can understand that, but…"

"But what?" Kel asked suspiciously.

"His body could have washed up anywhere! It could be anywhere on the Tortallan coast line, in fact, what's to stop it having washed up in Scanra?" Thom pointed out.

"I have this," Kel said quietly. She tried to get out of bed, but fell to the floor.

Thom frowned at her. "Maude will kill me if she finds out I let you even attempt to get up! What did you want?"

Kel pointed to the shirt she had been wearing when Thom found her. "That."

Thom threw it at her.

She reached inside the front pocket, and pulled out a small ring. "This was my fathers, he gave it to me only a few days before he died. I've heard of stories of mages being able to find a person through something that was theirs. Do you know a mage that could do that?"

Thom sighed. "I could try, I'm a mage. There would be a few problems though."

"What?" Kel asked quickly.

"I don't know if it works when the person you're looking for is dead, and, well, I don't know whether I could actually look for your father at the moment." Thom looked down at his feet embarrassed.

"You don't have the power to do it?" Kel asked cautiously, not wanting to embarrass him further.

He grinned at her. "I do, but not at the moment if you understand."

"Not really, no." Kel admitted.

"Normally I would be able to do that, although it would be a bit of a stretch. But I've been sent home from the university to rest, I sort of…em – well, why don't we just put it this way. I was doing some rather big workings, and I became tired and lost control of the power that I was using. They sent me home to recover and so that they can rebuild that particular wing of the university, but I've been very, very tired for a quite a while now. The best I can manage is lighting a few candles."

"Ah," Kel said. "Well, do you know anyone who might be able to help?"

"Mother might be able to, but she's at the Scanran border, so she can't help…"

Kel interrupted him. "At the Scanran border? Who is she?"

Thom looked at her strangely. "You really don't know where you are?"

Kel shook her head. "No, I only woke up this morning. Where am I?"

"Pirate's Swoop," Thom said shortly.

Kel's eyes widened in surprise. "You're the Lioness's son!"

Thom grinned, he was used to that reaction. "Yes, I am."

"I met her at the palace."

"You duelled with her?"

Kel grinned. "Yeah, beat her as well. Neal says I cheated because I used a Yamani move, but…"

Thom grinned widely and steered the conversation back to it's original subject. "Anyway, as I was saying before. I can't do it at the moment, neither can mother, but Uncle Numair could. He found Aunt Daine that way during the immortal's war," Thom said, thinking out loud.

"Well, could you ask him?" Kel asked hesitantly.

Thom nodded. "Sure. I'll get a messenger bird."

- - -

A week later, Kel attempted to sit up as a very, very tall man walked into the room.

Thom smiled at her, and took his usual seat by her bedside. "Kel, this is Numair Salmalin the best mage in this realm." He turned to Numair. "Uncle, this is _Calawabi_ Keladry of Mindelan."

Kel's face turned to stone. "No, I'm not a _calawabi_ anymore. I'm obviously a traitor."

Thom turned to Kel. "Stop that, you know you never did anything traitorous."

Kel just looked at him.

"Am I missing something here?" Numair asked, surprise showing in his face. "The message I got told me that I was needed to find someone."

"You're not missing anything, sir," Kel told him quietly.

"We were wondering if you'd be able to do us a favour uncle. We need to find a body," Thom explained.

"A body?" Numair exclaimed. "What have you got yourself mixed up in Thom? I imagine your mother doesn't know about this yet?"

Thom shifted uncomfortably. "No, she doesn't know I'm home from the university actually. But, it's not what you think it is, honest."

"Well what is it then? Because looking for a body sounds more like Provost work."

"If you have time, I was wondering if you would be able to find my father's body," Kel said quietly. She was looking at the floor, and Thom realised she was crying. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Numair bit his lip. "I'm sorry. What happened?"

"The Emperor tried to have me and my family killed," Kel said shortly. "My father was killed, and his body chucked into the sea, I want to find his body."

"You have a focus?" Numair asked.

Kel handed over her father's ring.

Numair nodded and pocketed the ring. "I'll get back to you when I have some results."

"Thanks," Kel said shyly.

"It's no problem," Numair replied.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton.

**A/N:** Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've tried to sort out everything, but I'm no where near perfect so I'm sure you'll be able to find some mistakes. I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…

**Chapter Eleven: Discoveries**

Two months after Kel had left for her Tribulation, Dom watched her ride carefully into the palace courtyard. But she wasn't alone, a young man rode with her, and two well-armed guards followed at a respectable distance. Dom had no idea who the young man could possibly be, had she taken a _calawabi_ already?

Kel jumped from the saddle, and Dom saw the young man frown disapprovingly at her, to which Kel just glared at him. As she turned to stable her horse, Dom caught the flash of a black armband, the sign of death.

Dom turned away, suddenly sickened at the thought of Kel making friends with however that stranger was. He thought he was her friend, and now she had a new one.

- - -

Kel walked into the mess hall with Thom. She was nervous, how could she face her friends after she had failed again?

"You'll be fine," Thom said gently.

Kel just raised her eyebrows, and set her face to stone, trying desperately not to let any emotions escape her mask. "Don't you have something better to do?"

"I'm offended Kel! You don't want me!" Thom cried in an exact imitation of a Player.

Kel grinned slightly. "You know I didn't mean it like that! But what happened to that Lady that you were seeing? Lady Aria of…" Kel grimaced as she tried to remember that particular Lady's fief.

"Lady Aria of Queensview," Thom supplied.

"Yes, that's the one, what happened to her? You were obsessed with her only last month," Kel told him.

Thom shrugged. "It appears she doesn't care for hapless mages. She found herself a knight."

"Sorry," Kel said truthfully, but she wasn't surprised. In many ways, Thom reminded her of Neal, always fantasising about some lady or another, but either not telling them, or loosing them to someone else.

Thom shrugged. "Don't worry about it, I don't."

Kel rolled her eyes at him, helped herself to food from the servers and sat down. Thom joined her, causing some stares from people who recognised him as the son of the famed Lioness.

The doors were flung open and Neal walked in, he was in the middle of a passionate debate with his father, something to do with healing. Dom followed talking quietly with Cleon.

"Oh look, it's Sergeant Domitan, the one I've heard ever so much about!" Thom said, deliberately trying to provoke a reaction out of her.

Kel grinned, knowing what he was trying to do. Happily she obliged him with a reaction. "Pirate's Swoop, shut your mouth!" she shouted, maybe a little louder than she had intended and threw bread at him.

Thom responded by magically raising a jug of water above Kel's head.

"Oh no you don't!" Kel shrieked, moving quickly out of her seat. In the two months that she had spent at Pirate's Swoop, she had realised that Thom loved nothing more than to play jokes on unsuspecting people. The water tipped onto her empty seat and Kel grinned at him. "Missed," she said simply.

"Food fights?" a dry voice inquired, "Can I play?"

Kel turned around to see Neal standing behind her, looking oddly at Thom.

"Hi Neal," she said, happy to see him, but hoping he wouldn't ask about her Tribulation.

"How did you manage to get stuck with Thom?" Neal asked suspiciously.

"Long story," Kel said grimly, and started to eat her meal quickly, her previous good mood destroyed by memories of the journey to the Islands.

Neal looked at Kel with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Don't ask," Thom advised.

"You're in on this secret as well?" Neal inquired, not sure whether he liked the idea of Thom knowing something about his best friend that he didn't.

"Maybe," was the reply.

Kel finished her meal and handed her tray back to the servers. As she walked out of the hall, she stopped by Thom. "I'm going to find Oranie and Adalia, they need to know that Numair's found him."

That cryptic comment made Neal sure that there was something wrong with Kel, and he was determined to find out what.

Thom nodded. "Sure, I'll see you around."

- - -

Neal crept quietly around the corner and flattened himself against the rose bush, trying not to yelp as the thorns prickled him. He had followed Kel all around the palace, she had been wandering almost all of the afternoon, trying to find her sisters, and finally someone had told her that they were in the rose garden.

Kel walked into the centre of the rose garden where Oranie and Adalia were sitting with a maid. Both Oranie and Adalia wore the black of mourning, something that immediately made Neal suspicious that something was seriously wrong with Kel and her family.

Kel bowed to her sisters and the maid. "If you will excuse us?" Kel asked the maid politely.

The maid nodded and curtsied, then walked away, thankfully for Neal out of the other exit of the garden, not the one he was hiding in.

There was a long silence; Oranie sat completely still, her body unmoving while Adalia wrung her hands anxiously.

Finally Oranie look up at Kel. "You have some news?"

Slowly Kel nodded her head. "Yes, Numair found him."

Neal expected to here a sigh of relief at that statement, when someone had been found, people were usually happy, but instead, Kel's sisters just nodded gravely.

"He was washed up off the coast of Tyra; Numair is arranging to have him transported to Mindelan for the funeral. I've already told Anders, Inness and Conal, they're expecting the body to arrive sometime next month," Kel explained quietly, all her feelings hid behind her Yamani mask.

"And mother? Any news on her?" Adalia asked anxiously.

In shock, Neal realised that they had been talking about their father, he was dead.

Kel shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. Nobody saw the ship that attacked us dock at port; they must have used one of the Emperor's ports. No news at all."

"Thank-you," Oranie said, and her voice seemed to stumble as she broke down in tears. Kel moved gracefully to sit by her sister and held her as she cried.

Over Oranie's bent head, Adalia asked, "And what of your Warrior Lord? Any news on him?"

Grimly Kel gritted her teeth. "No, but you know the sentence for breaking your oath to the Emperor by aiding and abetting a traitor as well as I do."

"You think they executed him?" Adalia asked in shock.

"I'd like to think that they just imprisoned him, but I highly doubt it," Kel said shortly and tears fell down her face.

Neal saw her tears, and moved out of his hiding place. He placed a gentle arm around Kel, and led her away to her room.

- - -

There was a gentle knock on her door, and Thom walked in. He nodded to Neal, and then came to sit beside Kel.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

She rubbed the tears away from her eyes with the back of her hand. "Not at the moment, but I'll get better." She heaved herself out of the chair where she had curled up and into her washroom to try and remove the tear stains from her face.

Thom looked at Neal and saw the troubled look in his eyes. "She told you what happened?" he guessed.

Neal nodded grimly. "Not a nice story," he commented.

Thom shook his head. "No, not nice at all." He looked up as Kel re-entered the room. "Are you up to seeing visitors? You've got quite a collection of people waiting outside to see you, and all of them are fretting."

"Sure, I'll see them," Kel said.

Thom walked to the door, and stuck his head out. "You can come in."

Dom traipsed in, followed by Cleon, then Roald, then Merric, and even Owen, who she'd only met once.

"You didn't all have to come," Kel said dryly. "I'm sure one of you would have been enough."

Dom shrugged. "Roald had thought of that idea, but we all wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'll be fine," Kel lied.

"Who's your friend?" Cleon asked, gesturing at Thom.

Thom stood up and offered Cleon his hand. "Thom of Pirate's Swoop."

"Cleon of Kennan," Cleon replied. Then he pointed at each of Kel's friends in turned and introduced them. "His Highness,  Prince Roald of Conté, Sir Merric of Hollyrose, Squire Owen of Jesslaw and Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle."

At the mention of Dom's name, Kel gave Thom a 'don't-even-think-about-it' look, to which Thom grinned and looked very devious.

"So…" Merric said to cover the awkward silence that had settled over the room.

"You're one of the Emperor's Chosen Warriors now then?" Owen asked.

Kel's eyes hardened and then became flat as a Yamani calm filled her face. "Chosen, yes, not for the right reasons."

"Don't be so cryptic Kel," Thom warned her.

"Okay, okay," Kel said starting to sound a little annoyed. She turned to face her friends. "I didn't pass my Tribulation."

A chorus of condolences sounded out from her friends.

"I didn't even get to try it, the Emperor tried to kill me and everyone on the ship I was travelling on as soon as we entered Yamani waters," Kel continued, ignoring her friend's condolences.

Her statement shocked them into silence.

"Ah," Dom said at last.

"Who was on the ship?" Cleon asked quietly.

Kel guessed what he wanted to know. "Inness is fine, he was on border duty at the time so he couldn't come over."

Cleon's face showed his relief, then became guilty as he realised that Kel had a black armband on. "Who died?" he asked quietly.

Kel shrugged. "Who knows? My father washed up in Tyra, and my mother and Jamil were still on the boat when they threw me overboard."

"I'm sorry," Cleon said, smiling grimly at her. His sentiments were echoed by all in the group.

"When's the funeral?" Dom asked suddenly.

"My sisters and I are leaving for Mindelan next week. We'll have the funeral once my father's body arrives." Kel said quietly.

- - -

A week later, Kel set off from the palace, accompanied by her sisters, their maids and Neal, Dom, Cleon and Thom.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil, Lord Parrton and the little girl with the Gift.

**A/N:** Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've tried to sort out everything, but I'm no where near perfect so I'm sure you'll be able to find some mistakes. I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…

**Chapter Twelve: Funeral**

Kel was conscious of eyes following her as she rode through the village on her way to the Mindelan house.

The villagers were naturally curious about the youngest daughter of the Mindelan family, she hadn't been seen at the fief since she was fourteen, now she had returned, and with her she brought bad news

A young girl ran up to Kel, she couldn't have been more than five, and stared up at her, her blue eyes sent shivers down Kel's spine.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice still sounded childish as she said the words that had obviously been practised.

Kel smiled tightly at her, and swung out of the saddle. "Thanks."

The girl grinned showing a missing tooth that gave her a childish charm.  Then from behind her back she produced a bunch of flowers. They were wild, she'd obviously picked them only minutes before Kel had arrived.

Kel grinned and patted the child on the shoulder. "Thanks."

There was the clatter of hooves as Inness rode out of the house grounds followed by Anders and Conal.

Kel bowed stiffly in the Yamani style, and her friends followed her example. Her brother bowed back, in the style of a Tortallan. Then Inness smiled sympathetically at her.

"Come on," he said quietly. "Let's go inside."

Grateful to get away from the inquiring eyes of the villagers, Kel mounted up and followed Inness.

As she approached the house, she saw that her father's flag was flying at half mast as a mark of respect, and her mother's had been lowered slightly. In puzzlement, she looked up at the flag masts, normally there were four flags flying there, her mother's, her father's, the Tortallan flag and the Yamani flag, the latter as a sign of their allegiance to both countries. But there were only three.

Seeing her puzzlement, Inness pointed to a piece of material that had been shredded and pushed onto the sharpest point of the gates to the house. The Yamani flag, her brothers had symbolically destroyed it. She wasn't sure what to make of it, whilst she was born Tortallan, she had been a Yamani at heart for years.

"Think about it later," Neal advised, seeing her staring at the destroyed flag.

Kel nodded, and turned her horse towards the stables.

- - -

Quietly, she surveyed the crowd standing by the funeral pyre. It was a sea of black, and she looked down at her own clothes. Black. Everyone had been affected by her father's death.

Taking a deep breath, Kel grabbed the Tortallan flag, and walked forwards. A hush settled over the watching villagers as they spotted her, and out of the corner of her eye, Kel saw her friends smile supportively at her.

Biting back the tears, she laid the flag over her father's body and stepped back. Standing up on a wooden block by the pyre, she glanced at the crowd.

"He was good man," she said firmly. "And many of you know that. He didn't deserve this. He was the best father I could have wished for, and I'm sure my brothers and sisters agree with me." She stopped as tears started to make their way down her face. Getting her emotions under control, she continued, "the Gods do the strangest things, and I guess being Gods they don't need a reason for it. But some things shouldn't happen, and my father's death was one of those things." Wiping tears from her eyes, she turned to her father's body, and bowed, Yamani style, as low as she could. Then she stepped down.

Anders stood up, and started to talk, then Conal, then Inness, her sister's got up and talked together, then something odd happened. All the village girls stood up, and started to sing, and dance. At first Kel was shocked, they shouldn't be happy! Then she recognised the song, a sad, mournful tune, and the dance fitted it. It must have taken them ages to prepare.

Then Thom stepped forwards, power streaming out of his fingers, but Kel held him back. She turned to the child that had given her the flowers on the way in to Mindelan.

"You have the Gift, don't you?" Kel asked her, and the child nodded in return. "In that case, you light the pyre," Kel told her, and she lifted her head towards the sky and called, "Mithros and the Great Mother, I give thanks for the life he had. Black God, please help him reach your gate safely where his soul can rest in peace, free from battles and pain that this life provides."

Right on cue, red power flew from the child's fingers, and the pyre went up in flames.

Oddly, Kel felt completely at peace at that time, the flames seemed to be mesmerising and she couldn't look away from them. Around her she felt the villagers moving, getting back to their everyday tasks, and she felt her friends leave, then one by one, her brothers and sisters. There was only one person left, Dom.

As she looked at him, he grinned, and slipped his hand in to hers. Glad for his company, Kel sat down on the grass and continued to stare at the flames.

- - -

They set off for Corus the next week, and as the passed the destroyed Yamani flag, Kel dismounted. Taking it off of the fence, she laid it on the floor, and looked at Thom.

Thom cringed at the cold hatred in her eyes, and couldn't help but obey her when she gave him her order.

"Burn it."


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton.

**A/N:** Right. This is a corrected version of the chapter. I've been going through correcting the chapters, so if you find any mistakes, let me know! I've tried to sort out everything, but I'm no where near perfect so I'm sure you'll be able to find some mistakes. I've completely changed Kel's reactions because everyone was saying that she was completely OCC, and quite frankly, I agreed. On with the story…

**Chapter Thirteen: I told you, I'm too small! **

Kel raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You honestly expect me to believe you didn't have anything to do with this?"

Dom looked at the ground, and scuffed his shoes slightly.

Kel couldn't help but laugh, he looked like a young boy who had been caught stealing pie. She had been woken up earlier that morning, at a time she considered the middle of the night, but apparently Dom thought three hours into the new day an okay time to be playing tricks on people. And to make matters worse, it wasn't even her he'd been playing tricks on. He and a couple of men from the King's Own had immaturely decided to place something slimy in Neal's bed, and a bucketful of water on his door frame, goodness knows how they had managed to get it to stay there! Neal wasn't best pleased, and Kel was even less pleased because Neal had woken her up with his screaming.

"It was only a laugh!" he protested fruitlessly.

Grinning slightly, Kel shook her head and turned to Neal. "You're free to do whatever you want with him." She turned around and started to head back into her own room to get some more sleep. "Make it slow and painful," she said mischievously.

Dom gulped, and Neal grinned wickedly.

"Just don't make too much noise," she added as an afterthought.

- - -

"The King will see you now," the clerk said, pointing to the door of Jon's study.

Slowly Kel got up out of her chair and walked towards the study. She had no idea what he could want with her. She hadn't done anything remarkable, or anything stupid that might have been brought to his attention.

Quietly she knocked on the door then pushed it open.

Jon was sitting at his desk, his head bent over some official looking papers. With a flourish he signed the last one, and then looked up at her.

"Ah, Keladry," he said after studying her for a while.

She bowed. "Sire."

There was a long awkward silence, and Kel shifted slightly so she could study the room. There had been few changes since she was in here last, the red and gold curtains still hung heavily over the windows, and portraits still adorned the walls. Kel was interested to see not only one of Jon's family, but of several fighting figures. On closer examination she recognised them as the Lioness, and in the background Kel could see either Thom or Alianne. He had pictures of the Tortallan coast line, and old maps of the country of Tortall. There was one portrait that interested Kel even more, and she wandered over to inspect it closer.

It pictured a young Jonathan kneeling in front of his father, his head bowed whilst his father gently knighted him. In the crowd Kel could pick out a young Alanna, still dressed as a boy, cheering loudly with a huge grin on her face. Next to her stood a monk, his face covered, but Thom had told Kel of the many times his father had visited his mother dressed as a monk.

"That was a long time ago," Jon commented from behind. He stood up and walked slowly over to Kel. "That one's my favourite, if only because of the memories it brings with it." He pointed towards a painting that wasn't quite Tortallan. It depicted two almost regal figures riding through a crowd of kneeling people towards a stone city that was surrounded by an expanse of sand. "A Bazhir painter did it for me for my coronation."

Kel nodded slowly, like every one else she had heard the stories of the time Jon and 'Alan' had banished demons from the city of Persopolis and had ridden home, alive and triumphant the next morning. "I've heard the story many times sire. It's a favourite of one of the masters in the Yaman, he uses it to frighten many little kids into going where they don't want to go, because it's meant to be haunted."

Jon grinned slightly. "Anyway, do you want to take a seat?" He gestured at a comfy looking armchair by his desk, and Kel willingly sat.

They made small talk for a while, talking about mutual friends and acquaintances, training, the political situation between Tortall and Scanra and last of all Tortall's stance of the Yamani Islands.

"Some of your parent's friends on the council are in uproar, they're calling for immediate war," Jon said quietly.

Kel gasped. "Are they mad?"

Jon looked at her in surprise. "I thought you'd be siding with them!"

Kel snorted. "Hardly, I mean, think about how many people would die just because we went to war. A few weeks ago I would have been happy to know friends of my parents were pushing for war, but…" she trailed off, lost for words.

Jon nodded slowly. "That's a good quality, being able to see outside the box you're living in and seeing the whole picture, one I like to see in my knights. But please, accept my condolences, your parents were great people and they will be sorely missed."

Kel nodded her head slightly, and resettled herself in her seat. "Thank-you, your Highness."

"Now, let's get down to business," Jon said, leaning forwards over the desk. "Have you given any thoughts about what you are going to do now?"

Kel looked at him, slightly startled. "No your Highness."

"I believe you know my son?" Jon asked, the change in subject startling Kel even further.

"Roald, yes, I do," Kel confirmed.

"Well he came to see me this morning, and asked me something, and I've got to say that I agree." Jon cleared his throat. "Kel, do you want to re-think that refusal you gave me about being an honoury knight?"

Kel looked at her King in surprise. "I – I think I would."

"And?"

"If your Highness is willing, I will take him up on his offer."

Jon grinned widely. "We'll knight you at sunset."

"But the Chamber…?"

Jon shook his head. "I'm not taking any chances, we don't know what the Chamber would make of a non-squire entering, and it might chew you up and spit you out. We don't want that happening."

Kel shook her head, a smile touching her lips. "No, your Highness, I don't think my brothers, or my sisters for that matter, would be best pleased."

Jon grinned wryly. "You could be right there."

- - -

"You can't get knighted wearing that!" Neal insisted shrilly.

Kel looked at him in confusion, and then looked down at the clothes she was wearing. "What's wrong with them?"

Neal sighed and dragged Kel over to a mirror. "Look! They have flecks of mud on them, they're worn thin on the knees, the elbows have been patched and you have a huge rip on the sleeve!"

Kel concealed a grin and guided her friend over to a chair. "Neal, I think you should just calm down! You're acting like _you're_ the one getting knighted! And as for these clothes, they're not that bad, you're just exaggerating. They are _not_ worn thin, the mud can be brushed off, and that rip is little more than a snag."

"But what about the elbows?" Neal demanded. "And besides, you have to wear your knight-master's colours when you're knighted."

Kel shrugged. "I have no knight-master, remember? And all of the uniforms that my Warrior Lord gave me are on the bottom of the Emerald Ocean."

Neal winced. "I'm sorry, I forgot."

Kel shrugged. "It's okay." Then she sighed, "But if you're not happy with this, what do you think is acceptable to wear?"

"What have you got?"

"This is my best pair of clothes."

Neal's eyes widened. "Okay, come on." He dragged her down the hallway and up to the huge apartments the Lioness used when she was staying at the palace. As he rapped sharply on the door, Kel could hear shouting, and someone, a man, trying to make peace.

A young girl answered the door with a scowl. "What?" she demanded. Her copper coloured hair gave her away as some relation of the Lioness, and her flashing hazel eyes made it obvious she had been involved in the fight.

"Aly," Neal said calmly. "Please get your mother." When she hesitated, he added, "Now."

"It's okay," a tired voice said from behind Aly. "I'm here. What did you want Neal?"

Neal looked at the Lioness. "Now isn't a good time, is it?"

The Lioness shook her head, but stood aside to let them in. "Come in, I'm sure Aly wouldn't mind briefly stopping her argument."

Aly scowled at her mother and slipped out the door.

Alanna opened her mouth to call her daughter back, but then seemed to think better of it. "Come in," she said again.

Reluctantly Kel followed Neal into the spacious apartments. She was intrigued to find that the decorations on the walls weren't just Tortallan. There were Yamani hangings, paintings from the Copper Isles and Bazhir art. A man was sat at a table with papers spread all over it, he wore a look of deep concentration on his face and Kel could see that his hands were deftly moving over a piece of string with knots in it.

"George, we've visitors," Alanna called to him, and he got up and walked over.

His brown hair was brushed away from his forehead and hazel eyes studied Kel carefully.

"Keladry of Mindelan," he said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Suddenly Kel recognised the man she had only seen a few times during her stay at Swoop. It was George, Alanna's husband.

She smiled at him. "Yes, I'm surprised you recognised me."

George shrugged. "I rarely forget things."

"Am I missing something?" Alanna asked tetchily.

"Kel stayed at Swoop for a few months a while back," George replied. He held up his hand as Alanna opened her mouth to speak. "We didn't tell you because we didn't want you getting distracted. You were on the border at the time."

Alanna sighed and turned to Neal. "I'm presuming this isn't a social visit."

Neal nodded. "You're right. I was wondering if you had any clothes that Kel could borrow. Hers aren't suitable for being knighted."

Alanna grinned and shook her head. "You must be joking. Why would anything I have fit Kel? In case you hadn't noticed, I'm quite a bit smaller than her!"

Kel concealed a grin behind a hand. Alanna was right, Neal really hadn't thought this through. She turned and sank back into a chair, enjoying that she had the time to just sit. Her life seemed to so hectic at the moment.

"Kel!" a voice cried, and Kel sighed.

"And I thought I'd got rid of you!" Kel joked. "What have you done this time? Accidentally moved a mountain on top of the university? Or maybe you flooded it?"

George's eyes glinted with amusement as he watched his eldest son pretend to hit Kel. Then he suddenly paled. "Thom! What did you do?"

Thom put on an offended face. "Why father, how can you think I ever did anything? What reasons could you have to possibly think that I would do anything to the university?"

George opened his mouth to reply, but then seemed to think the better of it. "So what are you doing here then?"

Thom yawned and collapsed onto a chair. "The university gossip was saying that King Jonathan was offering a certain Keladry of Mindelan the chance to be knighted, so I came to see for myself." He turned to Kel. "I must admit, I'm most offended that you didn't invite me!"

Kel grinned. "I thought that you didn't need the distractions, and after all, what ever happened to all the pretty women at the university? I was sure that they wouldn't want to have you taken away from them."

Thom snorted and looked like he was about to say something and then remembered that his parents were still there.

Kel chuckled and turned back to where Neal and Alanna were still arguing about clothes.

"For goodness sake Neal! Aren't you listening to me? My clothes won't fit her!" Alanna yelled.

"But can't we at least…" he got no further because Kel had got up and had a firm grip on the back of his shirt.

"Weren't you listening?" she asked impatiently. "They won't fit, I know that and she knows that, so why don't you just pay attention?"

Alanna grinned. "Well said. Now Neal, why don't you take Kel down to the city and look for something?"

Neal sighed.

Kel grinned. "He can't."

Alanna regarded her ex-squire suspiciously. "Why can't he?"

"He, and my dear friend Yuki, were going to go for a stroll in the gardens," Kel explained as she held back laughter.

Neal grimaced at Kel. "You had to tell _her_, didn't you? I'll never hear the end of this!"

Kel shrugged. "Sorry. Your fault though. I mean, if you hadn't dragged me here, that terrible little thing would have never slipped out."

Neal sighed and turned to go. "I'll find someone else to take you into the city."

"What makes you think I can't go myself?" Kel asked as they let themselves out. She waved to Thom and closed the door behind them.

Neal raised his eyebrows at her. "If you went yourself, you wouldn't come back with anything suitable. Whatever you come back with would probably be worse than what you were planning on wearing!"

Kel sighed. She had the vague idea that anything that Neal thought was suitable, she would hate.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton, oh, and Feran!

****

**A/N:** Some people wanted a re-cap, so if you want it, here it is…

**RECAP…**

Kel trained for one year in the palace and was then thrown out. She spent a little time at home, but her sister's-in-law made her life a misery and she went to the Yamani Isles to train as a Warrior. On coming there, she was pitched head-first into a fight with her old best friend (who had been part of a rebellion against the Emperor) and killed her before they recognised each other. She trained at the Emperor's Court until she was a _calawabi_ (the Yamani version of a Squire). First she was picked by Tait (her best friend's brother), but he was injured and passed her training to Lord Jamil, the Captain of the Yamani Army. When Shinkokami is sent over as the final part of the treaty between Yaman and Tortall, Jamil is sent over to guard her so Kel goes with him. Kel feels that her friends won't want to know her because she failed to get into her second year and goes by the name Jhedy (the name of the friend that she killed). She holds this up for a while until she tells Joren in a fit of distinctly Tortallan anger. When she does so, she realises she had made a mistake. A few weeks later she goes to Dom (who she is friends with) and explains who she really is and asks him to do something about it. Dom blackmails (sort of) Joren into keeping quite, which he does. Kel and Dom start to get on really well. He tries to find out about Jhedy, but she doesn't answer. The next day she is called back to the Yamani Isles to defend them from immortals. She fights side-by-side with Ked. Ked and Salin (another one of her friends) were killed. Kel comes back to Tortall with Jamil when the battle is over. Neal and the others find out who she really is and about Jhedy. She makes friends with all her old friends again. There is a ball where assassins try to kill the royal family and Kel saves them, nearly killing herself at the same time. In doing so, her true identity is told to the whole court. The King tries to reward her and offers her all manner of things including money, land and an Honoury knighthood. Kel refuses, saying that her loyalty is to the Yamani Islands and she couldn't go back on the oath that she took for them. Soon the time comes for her to have her Tribulation (the Yamani version of the Chamber of Ordeal), so she starts the journey back to Tortall. Meanwhile in Yaman, the Emperor's son (Ednar, one of Kel's old friends and year-mates at the Yamani Court) has his Tribulation. In it he sees Kel leading a Tortallan Army against a Yamani one. This is a prophecy of what should be happening, but Ednar doesn't realise this and thinks that it means Kel was traitorous. He tells his father who orders that the Mindelan family be killed as soon as they enter Yamani waters. Piers is killed and Jamil and Ilane captured. Kel is thrown off board and swims/floats back to Tortall where she washes up on the beach in front of Pirate's Swoop. Thom finds her and rescues her. They return to the palace where Neal snoops around until he finds out what had happened. At the funeral, Kel destroys the Yamani flag, signalling that her allegiance to the Yamani Islands is no more. Also, she and Dom get together. When they get back to the palace Jon re-offers her the honoury knighthood and she accepts. The complex part of the plot (the misinterpreting of Ednar's Tribulation) is explained perfectly in this review by Tanydwr. Thanks! She said: _'If Ednar's Tribulation hadn't showed him Kel leading the Tortallan army, the Emperor wouldn't have ordered her death. And had he not ordered her death, she would not have ended up in Tortall.'_ Perfectly correct!

And that is the plot so far. If anyone doesn't understand, e-mail me at theblackladyknightyahoo.co.uk and I'll explain it. Now, on with the story…

**Chapter Fourteen: Rain**

"And?" Kel asked with arched eyebrows.

"All I'm saying is that I didn't think you were the sort of person who liked going clothes shopping!" Dom explained hurriedly.

Kel grinned. "No, I'm not usually known for my eagerness to go out and spend money on useless garments that I'll probably never wear again."

Dom chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist. "So why are we traipsing around Corus, in and out of clothes shops?"

Kel yawned. "Meathead's orders. Apparently my clothes aren't good enough. He tried to get Alanna to lend me some, but there was the matter of the slight height difference."

Dom chuckled as he tried to imagine Kel in some Alanna's clothes. "I could imagine that might be a problem."

Kel nodded. "Neal didn't seem to think so though."

"Well, he is Meathead, what did you expect?"

Kel laughed, and veered towards another shop.

Dom sighed. "This one doesn't look anymore promising than the last one!"

Kel shrugged. "I've got to find something though."

"But this is futile." Dom pushed open the door to the shop and followed Kel in. "It's a waste of time."

Kel grinned slightly evilly. "I thought you enjoyed spending time with me." She started to wander around the shop, glancing at the clothes and occasionally feeling the fabric.

A woman walked out of the back. "Ah, my Lady. Do you want something for a ball perhaps? To impress the fine gentlemen of court?"

Kel smothered a laugh and glanced at Dom who was still trying to work out what she had meant by her last comment. "Not quite, Mistress…"

"Mistress Kauri," the lady supplied.

"Not quite Mistress Kauri. I need something practical. One of my friends has insisted that I improve my wardrobe for tonight's ceremony. He's the sort of person you can't say no to," Kel explained.

"Ah, it's like that, is it?" Mistress Kauri said with a sly grin.

Kel was shocked by what she was implying. "No, it isn't like that. He's a friend."

"They all say that."

Dom, who had been watching this exchange with amusement, figured it was time that he stepped in. He walked up behind Kel and placed his arms around her waist and leant his head on her shoulder. "Mistress Kauri, as much as I'm sure you mean well, you can believe me when I say that Kel is not looking to impress this man. He's not worth it."

Kel turned slightly and grinned. "I'll just tell him that, shall I?"

Dom shrugged. "If you want. I'm not scared of him."

"Oh, but Dom, it appears you've forgotten Yuki and her fan."

Dom gulped. "You know, maybe we would be better off keeping that little comment to ourselves, what do you think?"

Kel laughed. "Maybe, maybe not."

Mistress Kauri coughed a little, but recovered well from the gentle rebuke. "So Lady, what's the occasion?"

"A knighting," Kel explained.

"Ah, in that case, I have just what you want," Mistress Kauri said and she bustled to the back of the shop and rummaged around there.

"At last!" Kel sighed. "Maybe this will be better."

Dom grinned. "I still can't believe she thought you wanted to impress Meathead though!"

Kel laughed quietly. "Neither can I, but then again she's probably blessed with the luck of not knowing him."

Dom nodded. "I think you're right. Look at what Mistress Kauri is bringing back."

Kel turned and stared at the garments Mistress Kauri was holding up. There were three things, a low cut dress in a sickly shade of forest green, a dress with a fairly high top in a deep shade of blue and a skirt in black with small stars on it. She also held a white shirt, presumably to go with the skirt.

"Um…" Kel uttered. "Very…nice, I guess. But that wasn't quite what I wanted. What have you got in the way of breaches and tunics?"

Mistress Kauri blinked and turned to Dom. "But don't you want your lady to look pretty for your knighting?"

Dom laughed. "I'm King's Own. It's my lady who's getting knighted. So, breaches?"

"I'm afraid we only stock women's clothes," Mistress Kauri explained, using that phrase that Kel had heard to many times over that afternoon.

"Never mind then," Kel sighed and she followed Dom from the shop.

- - -

"Oh Gods, I didn't think it was this difficult to get clothes!" Kel sighed in frustration as they walked out of another shop. "And it's raining!"

Dom shrugged. "It's only a little water."

"A little?" Kel echoed as she watched the water form streams at the side of the street. Raindrops bounced off of the cobbles so high that they struck Kel's kneecaps. People were rushing to take shelter wherever they could, and merchants were quickly packing up their wares. Suddenly she felt rebellious. "Come on!" she shouted to Dom and skipped out into the street.

Laughing, Dom joined her. Bending down he cupped a handful of water from the side of the street and threw it at her.

"Ah, ah, ah," Kel gasped. "You little…!" Grinning she ran up next to him and jumped, making sure she landed hard into the puddles. It soaked him from head to foot.

Suddenly Kel found she was flying through the air and screamed out as she fell straight into a hole in the road, full of water. She scrambled out and looked for Dom.

"What?" he asked innocently, he resumed his whistling and started to walk towards the palace.

Kel shrugged off her outdoors cloak. Usually it was heavy, but with all the water in it, it was quite a weight. "Dom! Help!" she yelled in a good impression of a court lady. When he turned, she threw her cloak straight at him.

Dom gasped as he got a mouthful of soggy cloak and wasted no time in throwing it straight back. Marching over to Kel, he picked her up and started to walk up the hill towards the palace. "Squirming isn't going to help," he said calmly as Kel kicked him in the thighs.

"Put me down!"

"No can do, sorry. I'm not risking getting even wetter than I already am."

"Dom, I don't think you can get any wetter! You're soaked through!"

Dom shrugged. "And? Plus, this is fun. Have you any idea how fun it is to annoy you?"

Kel sighed, struggled one last time and then relaxed into his arms. Suddenly she thought of something and raised her head slightly to speak. "Have you any idea how much this will harm your reputation?"

Dom shrugged again.

"Have you any idea how annoying it is when you do that?" Kel asked.

"Yes. That's why I do it," Dom replied. "As for my reputation, do you think I care?" He turned to a garden wall and placed Kel down. "Race you to the palace. Last one there is a rotten egg!"

Kel jumped off of the wall and started to run.

"I haven't said go yet!" Dom yelled after her.

"And?"

Muttering something about women who cheat Dom followed her.

- - -

Yukimi noh Diamoru relaxed next to Neal on one of the hard palace benches in the entrance halls. "I enjoyed myself."

"Mm," Neal agreed. "Pity it had to rain."

"Yes, it…" she trailed off as the door was flung open.

"I won!" a woman yelled as she ran through the door.

"You cheated!" a voice said from just behind her. "Oh, hello Meathead."

Neal regarded his cousin in surprise. His dark hair was flattened against his head and sapphire coloured eyes were glinting with laughter and mischief. "Why are you wet?" he asked slowly, not sure what he cousin had been doing out in the rain.

"It was raining," the woman explained slightly patronisingly. She ran a hand through her sopping wet hair. "I thought even you would have realised that."

"Kel?" Neal asked in surprise. He hadn't given much thought to who the woman was, but he had just presumed it was one of the Riders, or someone. After all, Dom was quite friendly with a few of them.

Kel nodded. "It's tipping it down out there_ and_ I didn't get any clothes!"

"You went clothes shopping," Neal said slowly.

"Yes," Kel replied, wondering what had got into Neal.

"With Dom."

Yuki hid a grin, only Kel caught the smile in her eyes. "Do you want me to explain it to him? You can go to the palace tailors and get some clothes for tonight."

Kel grinned. "Please. I don't think he quite understands." She turned to Dom. "I've got to go and get some clothes, I'll see you tonight."

Dom nodded. "Sure. Have fun." His eyes glinted mercilessly and Kel was sure he knew exactly how much she hated being fitted for clothes.

- - -

"Since when were you and my cousin courting?" Neal demanded as he strode through the door to Kel's room.

"Since when is it customary to storm into a lady's room without knocking?" Kel asked calmly. She had hoped that because Yuki had explained this to him, he wouldn't insist on going through all of this, but it appeared that her hopes were too high. "For all you knew I could have been changing!" She set aside her book, realising that this could take a while.

"You weren't though," Neal protested.

Kel sighed. "I tell you what. You back to Yuki and tell her I sent you back until you have calmed down. Once you've calmed down I'll answer your questions. Is that settled? Good." And without waiting for an answer, she pushed Neal out of the door and closed it behind him. She returned to her bed and stretched out. Pulling her book back, she continued to read.

There was a sharp rap on the door and Kel sighed. She had thought Yuki would have managed to keep him longer than that. "Go away!" she yelled. "I told you, we'll discuss this when you've calmed down!"

"As far as I was aware, there wasn't anything we needed to discuss," a dry voice said through the door. "Can I come in?"

Kel laughed. It wasn't Neal after all. "Sure."

Thom opened the door slightly and slid through. "So what were you going to discuss with someone?"

"Neal didn't seem to like the idea that he had been slow in realising that I was with Dom," Kel explained.

"Ah, so you are together," Thom cackled with mirth. "You do realise I'm going to make your life very hard, don't you?"

Kel sighed. "Why did I even start talking about this with you?" she moaned. "Was there a reason you came here?"

Thom nodded. "Unfortunately I can't remember it at the moment. It's a pity really, because if I had remembered we could have sorted that out and I could have left. However, seeing as I've forgotten I'll have to stay."

Kel shook her head and gestured to a pitcher of juice on the dresser. "Help yourself to a drink."

"Thanks." Thom got up and poured himself a drink. "I hope I wasn't interrupting a good book."

Kel snorted. "Oh you ruined the whole thing. I just could _not _believe that you had to come in. It was getting _so _exciting," she said sarcastically.

Thom raised an eyebrow at her and she elaborated.

"Well, you see, the main character, Charlotte, who by the way survived a horrific bandit attack, slavery and servitude to the King was in a bit of trouble. Before her father died he arranged a marriage to some noble, but this much better looking man has come along and asked for her hand in marriage. And Charlotte's brother is threatening this man and telling him to get lost because she is already married. Now she has to decide between them." Kel pretended to cry. "It is so sad."

Thom laughed. "And why are you reading that junk?"

Kel gestured to the bookcase. "This was the best thing there! Now that tells you something about the quality of books that they supply the young ladies with."

Thom winced. "Ouch. Do you want to borrow something?"

Kel laughed slightly. "Thom, I expect all your books are about sorcery."

Thom looked affronted. "No they are not! I have a few on history."

"How many?"

"Two," Thom admitted. "The rest are on sorcery. But do you blame me? After all it is my profession!"

"Just sit down and tell me about the university," Kel ordered.

- - -

He was half-way through an amusing tale about the time he and one of his friends had bewitched all of the books in the library to snap shut as soon as they were opened when there was a knock on the door.

"Yes?" Kel called, wondering if it was Neal.

"Is Thom with you?" the Lioness called.

Thom winced. "Oops."

"Come in," Kel invited, walking over and opening the door. "I'm sure your arrival will mean he'll remember what he was meant to be asking me."

Thom nodded forlornly. "I remembered."

"And how long would it have taken you had I not come looking for you?"  Alanna asked her son with a slight smile on her face.

"I would have remembered!" Thom protested.

Alanna shook her head and turned to Kel. "What I sent Thom down here for was to ask you if you had found some clothes."

"I did thanks. I went to the palace tailors in the end, none of the shops that I know of in Corus would sell me breeches."

Alanna nodded and gestured to her son. "Come on, I think Neal's waiting outside to speak to Kel."

Kel winced and Thom laughed. "Have fun!"

As they let themselves out, Neal walked in.

"Calmed down yet?" Kel asked almost nervously.

Neal nodded and sat down. "I found Dom," he began and Kel winced. "He said he'd be along in a few minutes."

Kel sighed with relief. She wouldn't be handling Neal alone.

"So…" Neal said.

"So what?" Kel asked suspiciously.

"Do you want to start?"

"I thought we'd wait until Dom got here."

"Talking about me?" he asked as he walked through the door.

Kel nodded and he sat down beside her.

"So what exactly am I doing here?" he asked looking from Kel to Neal and back again.

There was a silence in which Kel stared at her feet and Neal tapped the chair arm.

"Okay, that was very responsive," Dom said slowly.

Kel shrugged. "I figured Meathead would explain it."

Dom looked towards Neal in askance.

"Fine! Why didn't you tell me you were courting Kel?" Neal questioned.

Dom looked slightly confused. "I thought you knew. Most people do."

"So you told nearly everyone else but me?" Neal exploded. "I thought I would have been first on your list of people to tell! I'm Kel's best friend and your cousin!"

Kel grinned slightly. "We didn't _tell_ anyone. I think they just, sort of, picked it up." She got up and poured herself a drink. "Either of you want one?" she asked, holding the pitcher up so they could see.

Neal shook his head and Dom nodded. "Please."

Kel poured a second one for him and came and sat back down next to him. He took one of the cups off of her and slipped his arm around her shoulders.

"No, seriously Neal, we just presumed you knew. After all, as you just said, you know the both of us better than almost anyone, we thought you would have guessed."

Neal's face took on a pained look. "Why do people just assume I know things?"

"Maybe we think you're cleverer than you really are," Dom's eyes sparkled with mischief as he said this and he had to duck quickly as both Kel and Neal moved to slap him. "I thought you were on my side!" he called to Kel.

Kel shrugged. "Ah, well maybe you were wrong. Didn't you know that Neal and I have been having a secret affair for years?"

"I'm sorry Dom," Neal said with a Player's dramatic gesture. "We assumed you knew!"

Dom laughed. "Alright Meathead, I guess I'll just have to settle for Yuki."

"Oh no you don't!" Neal yelled at him.

Dom threw his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright, alright, no need to kill me." He turned slightly more serious. "You're happy about Kel and I, aren't you?"

Neal nodded. "No problem with it, just, when you decide to get married, make sure you tell me first." With that, he scampered from the room.

"Married?" Kel echoed.

Dom shrugged. "I think we ought to warn Yuki that she has somehow found herself one very mad man."

Kel nodded with false seriousness. "Yes, it's only fair." Then she glanced at Dom and they burst out laughing.

- - -

Dom hugged her tight and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Be good," he said with a slight grin. "And I'll see you later."

Kel nodded and gripped his hand tightly then turned and walked towards the two waiting men. Although she would not be going into the Chamber, she had to be instructed in the code of chivalry all the same. The King and Dom's father were going to do that. She hadn't even realised that Dom's father was a knight, let alone that he was at the palace. Dom hadn't mentioned him apart from to tell her that his father would instruct her.

She bowed low to the two men and thanked them both for instructing her.

The King smiled slightly and Dom's father grinned. When he grinned Kel could see where Dom had got his smile. In fact, he looked almost identical to his father apart the eyes. Where Dom's were bright blue, his father's were a pale, almost translucent green. That was where Neal had got his eyes.

"It's a pleasure. I've heard about you from my son."

Kel blushed and Dom's father laughed even more.

The King started to make his way to his office. "Come on, we'll instruct you in my office."

Kel nodded and followed him. As soon as the office door shut behind them, the King started.

"Keladry of Mindelan, are you prepared to be instructed?"

"I am," Kel replied firmly.

"After your knighting you will be a Knight of the Realm. You will be sworn to protect those weaker than you, to obey your overlord, to live in a way that honours your kingdom and your gods," Dom's father said austerely.

The King sat down on the edge of his desk. "To wear the shield of a knight is an important thing. You may not ignore a cry for help. It means that the rich and poor, young and old, male and female may look to you for rescue and you cannot deny them."

Dom's father, Feran, cleared his throat. "Knights were established for two things: to protect the country and to uphold the law. Once you gain your shield it is your sworn duty to uphold the laws of this realm whether you agree with them or not. You cannot engage in any wrongdoing, nor can you choose to ignore it, for if you ignore it, you may as well have helped the criminals."

It was Jon's turn again. "As a knight you must value honour, both your own and that of the realm. You must protect your honour and when it is threatened you must react. You must defend your honour, but not in a way that will ruin another's honour. When challenged you must defend the honour of the realm you serve. You must fight for the honour of your King and family. If someone slanders your family, it is your sworn duty to protect them and the family name."

Kel gritted her teeth at the mention of family. Her parents had needed her to defend them, and she had failed. Was she even fit to become a knight? Jon seemed to sense her doubts because he smiled encouragingly at her and then nodded to Feran.

"As a knight you must keep your word whether it be to a commoner or to the King," Feran continued. "When you swear you will do something, that must be done, no matter what. Even if what you promised would compromise your own goals, you must do it. If you fail to keep your own word, your honour will fall into disgrace."

Jon rose. "When you wear your shield you must remember the code of chivalry and act by it. When you don't wear your shield you must still heed by the code. It sacred and many will not take it well if you bend or break the rules."

"Remember all we have said and keep it close by you for these words will be your guidance in the hard times that are to follow," Feran said in a quiet and gentle voice.

"Do you understand all we have told you?" Jon asked in a grave voice.

Kel nodded. "I understand."

Jon smiled. "Good. Then I believe we can continue. Shall we make our way to the Throne Room?"

- - -

**A/N:** Are you proud of me? I updated fast! For once. Anyways, there'll probably be another chapter coming in the next few days.

Hannah


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, places etc. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot though! Anything you might find familiar is probably a quote from TP's books. Hang on, I own: Ked, Jhedy, Tait, Salin, Jamil and Ked's Warrior Lord, Lord Parrton, oh, and Feran! A/N: Okay, it was a bit longer than a few days, but I still updated. Read on… 

- - -

Chapter Fifteen: Two Brave Knights 

She fought hard to keep her features smooth as she followed Jon into the throne room. She'd been at Neal's knighting, his whole family had been there. This was a time for family and most of hers weren't there. Inness had been stationed at Fort Mastiff and he wasn't granted leave, Anders was at home with his wife who was going to give birth to a child any day now, only Conal had been within riding distance and had been granted leave. Jon had offered to delay the ceremony so that all her remaining family could be there, but Kel knew that Inness wouldn't be getting away from the border anytime soon. She caught Conal's eye and he grinned supportively. It was odd, she mused, Conal had been the one she had fought with when she was younger and now he was the only one there.

As she walked past Dom, he squeezed her hand and smiled at her.

"You can do it," he whispered.

Kel smiled at him and moved to stand in front of the king.

"I must ask you to give an oath of allegiance," Jon said, using the time-honoured words that he repeated again and again every year to each squire.

As he said that, the opening words of the Yamani Warrior Oath came into her head, they were words that she had held close to her heart for most of her life, ones that used to mean everything to her. '_Naraw__ til yuir kar seth mul demort Yaman…"_

"Can you give me that? Will you fight for no other country but this?" Jon asked gravely. He knew that that question meant more to Kel than to any of the other people he had knighted over the years.

Kel bit her lip. This was it, she was finally backing out of her Yamani Oath, an oath she had thought she would keep until she died. For as the translation of the beginning of the oath said '_Until the day upon which I die, I shall fight for no other country but my Yaman…'._ She breathed deeply and images flashed through her head. She saw Jhedy's lifeless body…

_"Jhedy!__ Mithros Jhedy! I'm so sorry!"_

_Her black hair was stained with blood, her own blood. Her tanned skin was rapidly loosing its colour and her neck was smeared with blood. Her beautiful clothes were soaking up blood, the kimono she wore was one Kel had given her as a leaving present. The glaive in her hand was the first glaive Kel had ever touched and fought with._

_"Jhedy!__ I…" Kel trailed off as Jhedy smiled weakly._

_"I always told you we'd meet again," Jhedy replied, echoing her parting words to Kel before she left the Yamani Isles for Tortall and her eventual knighthood._

She saw herself kneeing in front of the Emperor, taking her oath… 

_Her hair had been tightly scraped back into a bun in the style of a Yamani woman and she had scrubbed her skin so hard in an effort to remove Jhedy's blood from her. She still felt unclean and she shivered as she saw Jhedy as a young child and again as the girl she had killed._

_She heard someone translating for Inness who had come over to see her take her oath._

_"Until the day upon which I die, I shall fight for no other country but my Yaman. It shall come first and last and I shall defend its honour for as long as I am able. I shall serve the Emperor and his court and will train my hardest to do my best, to become the best and to achieve the perfection that Yaman deserves. This I swear upon the Gods of Wind and Rain, of Fire and Ice and on my own honour which shall always come second to that of Yaman."_

_"Then train, Keladry of Mindelan," the Emperor replied, using the standard reply in return to her time-honoured speech. "Train your hardest, become the best and achieve the perfection that our Yaman deserves and demands."_

She saw Ked as she had seen him on the night of his death as she stood vigil over his body, praying for the safety of his soul in the next life…

_The night was cold and the moon shone with all of its glory down onto the horrific scene. Bodies lay in a line, waiting to be piled up and burnt. Stars twinkled merrily in the sky and Kel felt like reaching out and extinguishing them, they shouldn't be shining. The whole world should be in mourning for those that had lost their lives._

_She turned to Ked. He lay silently in death, his face covered in a Yamani calm and telling nothing of the pain that he had faced on death. His clothes clung to his body and were drenched in blood, both his own and that of the immortals he had slaughtered to save the Emperor. His blank hazel eyes and blood soaked curly black hair reflected the light of the moon._

_Kel sat on the ground next to him and placed a hand on his forehead. She prayed for his safety in the Black Gods realm, she prayed that his family would understand and that they would realise that he had died to protect the Emperor and she prayed she would never see another friend like this again._

Painfully she remembered Tait's offer of being her Warrior Lord and his eventual betrayal…

_"You will think it over?" he asked, his hazel eyes steady and giving Kel no indication of what he thought._

_"I would be glad to accept," Kel replied. Her heart was racing. She had got herself a Warrior Lord and it wasn't just anyone, Tait _noh_ Firatumio was well known all throughout Yaman for his fighting skills and he was also Ked's brother._

_"Good." He flashed her a wide grin, one that reminded Kel so much of Ked that she nearly laughed. "We shall begin tomorrow, for now I shall hunt down that mischievous brother of mine and get him to help you to move into your new rooms."_

_"He left for one of the other islands yesterday, my Warrior Lord. He found a Warrior Lord and they were called straight out."_

_"He didn't tell me?" Tait asked, his voice was calm and level but his eyes flashed angrily._

_Kel didn't know what to say, so she stayed quiet._

_Tait sighed. "Ah well, I guess he couldn't help it. Come on, I'll help you move in."_

_Kel was shocked, she hadn't expected that offer. Most Warrior Lords expected their _calawabi's_ to do all the work themselves._

_Years later, Kel saw his grin again, but this time it was shaky and unsure. He wore a blue armband and was obviously the warrior in charge of the boat boarding. She remembered perfectly how his voice had wobbled slightly as he called out her name and his eyes wouldn't meet hers when she stepped forwards to meet him._

_"You betrayed us!" he grunted as they exchanged sword blows._

_Kel was dazed by his words but her Yamani training helped her to keep fighting. "I betrayed no one!" she panted as she ducked to avoid a stab at her head._

_She remembered him as she had last seen him, soaked and shivering lying on the boat deck, his uniform clinging to his body with salt water dripping off of him. She heard his coughing and spluttering as he fought for breath and saw the men who crowded around him._

Her mind conjured up memories of fighting side-by-side with Jamil, once for the Emperor and once when he had forsaken the vow he took after his Tribulation and fought for her against Tait…

"Behind you," Jamil warned her and she turned to meet the pirate's sword. Hastily she brought her glaive up to block it and winced as she heard the wood creaking as she went body-to-body with him. She kicked out and sliced her glaive clean through his neck.

_She spun away in time to see a lone pirate creeping up behind Jamil, a bloody dagger in his hand. With a loud Yamani war cry she launched herself through the air and brought her glaive down on his back. Jamil turned at her cry and slit the pirate's throat._

_"Thanks," he gasped and turned to fight another._

_She remembered standing by the boat rails with him, discussing Dom and his shock as he saw Tait try to kill her and the horror in his eyes as he saw him decapitate her father, one of the Island's most respected men. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the pure anger in his sword movements and prayed he wouldn't do anything stupid._

_"I had thought better of you," Tait shouted at Jamil._

_Kel could remember thinking at that time that if Tait would betray someone, his thoughts weren't worth much._

_She had seen Jamil's casual shrug and had hoped that he knew what he was doing._

_"We will kill you if you resist!" Tait yelled as he tried to run his sword through Kel._

_"Then I died a hero," Jamil replied quietly and Kel cursed all the gods she knew. Didn't he know any better?_

_She remembered the last picture she had of him. He had been tied to the rails of the boat and was dangled off of the edge. His body was thumping against the side, but he was still alive and he smiled at Kel, a smile that would haunt her for the rest of her days._

Finally she saw her father, not the smiling man she had known for most of her life, but the bloody and lifeless corpse which would forever be her last memory of him…

_She stood close to Dom, thankful for his arm around her waist supporting her, preventing her from falling in a faint. Although the room was painted in such bright colours, the atmosphere was gloomy and depressing. She could hear Oranie sobbing and the calm comforting words of her husband. Somewhere she could hear Lachran, he was humming a tune under his breath, a Yamani tune that his grandfather, her father, had sung to him when he was a young child. Conal wore a look of pure grief on his face and his lips moving silently as he uttered a prayer to the Gods. Inness stood with his face towards the ground and he clung onto his wife's hand._

_Kel stared at her father's face. It was twisted and contorted showing the agony he had been in when he had died, she hoped he was at peace now. He was pale, which was what death did to you. His skin was smeared with his blood despite Kel and her brothers trying to wash it off. His clothes were the best Tortallan clothes that he had. Adalia had been very insistent when she was choosing his final clothes that they had to be Tortallan. Kel was glad of that, she didn't want her father being sent to the funeral pyre in the clothes of the nation that had killed him._

_Slowly people began to leave until it was just Kel and her brothers. Dom was the last to leave and he turned her gently over to Anders. She looked at her elder brother and fought to control the tears that were threatening to cascade down her cheeks. Anders drew her to his chest and placed a protective arm around her and she cried into his shirt._

Kel fought back the tears that threatened to come at the last memory and looked up at Jonathan, he was still waiting for an answer.

"Upon my honour and all the things that I hold dear, I give you an allegiance that will protect this country from her enemies. I give you my will to fight for you, for Tortall. Though I may find fault with some laws, I shall still strive to upkeep them and protect the people of this country. I shall heed the code of chivalry for the rest of my life. I am a vassal of this country, and yours to command, my liege and King."

Jon smiled at her and gestured for her to kneel. He pulled his sword from his sheath and tapped both her shoulders and then her crown. "You are dubbed Lady Knight, Keladry of Mindelan," he announced firmly in a voice that carried easily over the hushed crowd. "Remember you vows of service to this crown. Remember your promise of chivalry."

Kel rose and the room erupted in cheers. She turned and grinned slightly. Neal was standing on a bench, whooping loudly and Yuki was trying her best to keep her dignity by pretending she didn't know him, but her eyes shone with mirth and Kel could tell Neal's activities amused her. Conal stood clapping loudly and wearing a large grin on his face, but Kel could see that he too had been remembering their family and the ties they once had with the Yamani Isles. Thom was concentrating hard and seconds later a banner with her picture on it hung over the door. When he caught her glare, he just shrugged and started to clap. His mother looked ecstatic that there was finally a second lady knight. Kel looked around for Dom but couldn't find him. She was sure he had been standing with Neal and Yuki, but he was no longer there!

"Kel!" Neal shouted. "Try looking behind you!"

Kel spun around to see Dom standing next to his father. Feran held a suit of armour, some of the finest armour she had ever seen. At his feet lay a sword, still sheathed and the sheath had her name engraved onto it. But it was what Dom held that interested her the most. He had her shield. She gaped when she saw it, it was one of the most beautiful things that she had seen. There was the distaff border of blue and cream around the edge. The field was a deep blue and she could see that the paint was still wet. In the middle was a silver star that covered the outline of Tortall. In the right hand corner there was the Mindelan crest, the same one that was on her brothers' shield. Dom smiled at her. "Like it?"

Kel nodded. "Like it?" she echoed. "It's great!"

Dom stepped forwards and placed the shield on her left arm. "Wear it in health and victory. Now, turn and show the people, I know Neal wants to see it, he was very annoyed with me because I wouldn't let him see it earlier."

Kel grinned and allowed Dom to turn her around so that she faced the cheering crowd.

- - -

"Well, you've finally achieved your dream. How does it feel?" Dom asked as they sat out in the gardens as the celebrations were wrapping up.

Kel gazed at the moon. "It…I'm glad I've finally got what I wanted, but I can't help but think the price is too great. If I could have kept my parents and forgone the knighthood, I would have chosen that without a doubt."

Dom nodded. "I can understand that."

"Are you two going to come in?" Neal yelled through the open door. "Alanna wanted to make a toast!"

"In a minute Meathead!" Dom yelled back. "I'm in the middle of a conversation."

Kel laughed under her breath, the two of them could always amuse her.

Dom stood and bowed with a flourish. "May I escort the Lady Knight inside?"

Kel smiled. "Certainly." She allowed herself to be pulled up and guided inside towards the celebrations that were being conducted on her behalf.

---

**A/N:** Well? What you think? This will probably be finished in a few chapters or so, they'll certainly be no more than five chapters left. Well, I say that now, but knowing me at the last minute I'll change the plot line and write even more. Ah well.

Hannah


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Disclaimer: **Is this thing not getting old? Do I have to write it again and again? I do? Fine! I own: Ked, Jhedy, Tait, Salin, Jamil, Lord Parrton, Feran, the little girl with the gift at Mindelan, Judge Tremont (who gets no more than a brief mention), the black haired man that is a friend of Piers and Ilane and lastly, Farant.

****

**Chapter Sixteen: The Threat of War**

Jon re-read the message and seriously contemplated ripping it up and burning the pieces, but he knew that his councillors would be very upset at that. The soldier who stood guard by the door noticed the King's sapphire blue eyes flashing angrily and wished he was else where. Although the King didn't have the explosive temper the famed Lioness did, he was still quite capable of kicking up a storm if something hadn't gone the way he wanted it.

"Get a message to Lady Alanna at Pirate's Swoop telling her to get here now! I want my wife, the Duke of Naxen and his son, Lord Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, Judge Tremont, Lord Wyldon of Cavall and any other member of the council told that they are not to leave the palace under any circumstances until I've had the chance to speak to them!" Jon snapped as he rose out of his seat and moved towards the window. "Also tell them we may have a crisis on our hands."

- - -

Jon hugged his Champion tightly and passed the reins of her horse to Stefan.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice," Jon said as he and his Champion made their way to the palace.

"Your message did say that it was extremely urgent. What's the matter?" Alanna asked.

"Messengers are gathering the rest of the council now, I'll tell you once we're all together."

"It's that serious?" Alanna knew that Jon preferred to leave his council to debate things on their own; he only called a council meeting when it was very serious.

Jon nodded and Alanna could see the worry that shone in his eyes.

- - -

Jon waited until the whole council was sat around the table before he rose.

"First of all I'd like to thank you for coming on such short notice even though I know some of you had other pressing engagements and that the Third Company was due to ride out."

Raoul scowled at that. He'd had to send the Second Company out instead and leave the Third Company to continue their lounging around at the palace.

"Also, I'd like to thank those of you that were present at the last meeting, I read the summary and it appears that you achieved plenty. Now, I called you here on a very serious note, and I'm not going to be soft about this. We are facing the possibility of war."

"The Yamani Isles?" a black haired man that Jon knew was close to Piers asked.

Jon nodded. "Three days ago, I received this message." He took it out of his chest pocket and waved it, then passed it to Gary. "I'll pass it around so you can have a look at it, but what it says is that we have to hand over Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan to them so that she can face justice or they shall declare war."

Silence fell over the council as they took in exactly what that meant.

Myles was the first to speak. "If they attacked her and her family because they thought they were traitorous, which is what my unconfirmed information coming out of the Isles suggests, their so called justice would be a public flogging and then death. I won't tell you how they would kill her, but let me tell you, the Yamani Emperor is far more imaginative than we are when it comes to inflicting pain, suffering and finally death onto someone."

"What are you saying?" Lord Burchard of Stonemountain asked. "Are you saying that we should send hundreds of men to their deaths just because some merchant's whelp betrayed her country?"

The black haired man that had spoken earlier rose with such force that his chair fell to the ground behind him. "I would like to remind you that Lady Keladry is worthy of your respect. She saved the life of our royal family at great peril to herself! And that this is her country, she was born here!" the man said icily. "You would also do well to remember that Piers and Ilane have friends on this council and we will not take kindly to you slandering them. They were not merchants! In Tortall they were nobles and in the court of the Yamani Emperor they were honoured to the highest degree!"

"Trust me when I say that Kel did not betray her country!" a cold voice snapped from the doorway. "She wouldn't do anything like that! I can only assume that you don't know her, but she was devastated when they tried to have her killed. She refused her knighthood the first time because she believed that her allegiance was to the Emperor and the Yamani Isles. She didn't betray them, they betrayed her."

"Thank-you Roald," Jon said to his son with a slight grin on his face. "Now, are you going to sit? Or will you stand in the doorway for the duration of the deliberations?"

Roald bowed to his father and came to take a seat in between his father and Alanna.

"Well said," Alanna whispered to him as Lord Burchard thumped his fist on the table.

"I mean no offence to His Highness, but I beg to differ with what he is saying. The girl…"

"She has a name," a level voice commented form the far side of the table. It was Feran. "It would be much more polite if you used it."

Burchard glared at Dom's father. The man used to be conservative and had opposed allowing Kel to train in the first place, but over the past six months he had changed and was as progressive as Lady Alanna herself. The court gossip claimed that this had something to do with the fact that Feran's only remaining son was courting the second Lady Knight, but Burchard had never believed the court gossip, until today. He gritted his teeth. "Keladry of Mindelan is surely not worth the lives of hundreds of trained men."

"And women," Alanna interrupted. "And Kel is better trained than the soldiers that you are talking of. She is invaluable to our realm, almost as much as, or maybe more than her parents were. Her knowledge of the Yamani army far surpasses that of her parents or the spies that Myles has positioned there. She speaks the language like a native and fights like one."

"Exactly!" Burchard roared. "She'll turn on us, and then we'll find ourselves in a grand mess!"

"She wouldn't turn," Roald replied, his previous anger under control. "She swore an oath, and she'll keep that oath. I know it."

"I believe she swore an oath to her Emperor as well. She turned on him!" Burchard got up and strode up and down the room. "What's to say she won't do the same to us?"

"I would like to remind you who we are talking about," Feran said quietly. "We are talking about Kel, not some untrustworthy Yamani slave! Unless we try to kill her, she wouldn't turn on us."

"And you know that how?" Burchard sneered at Feran.

"Gentlemen, please! Be civil!" Jon commanded.

"Ask my son." Feran's voice was calm. "I think he would know."

Burchard gritted his teeth. "We aren't here to discuss your son. We're here to discuss Keladry! I don't know your son, he could be as untrustworthy as Lady Keladry undoubtedly is."

Feran stayed seated, drumming his fingers loudly on the desk, but this was too much for Raoul. He jumped out of his chair. "Keep your mouth closed, Burchard. You have no business insulting his son! He is completely trustworthy."

Burchard snorted quietly. "I highly doubt that."

"Feran's son is Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle. He serves under me and if I say he is completely trustworthy, he is. He and his men help to keep this realm safe so that people like you can live the lives you want to."

"Raoul," Jon said warningly, trying to stop Raoul informing Burchard exactly what he thought of people like him. Raoul heeded the warning. With a last glare to the conservative, he sat. "Now, I believe this has got a little out of hand. We are here to consider our next move. Let us first answer this question through a vote, because I believe that it is the only way we shall get anywhere on this matter. Who here believes that the Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan is untrustworthy?"

Burchard raised his hand along with seven other members of the council. "Wyldon?" Burchard asked of the fellow conservative. "You need to put your hand up to have your vote counted."

"I know how to vote," Wyldon replied dryly. "I have done it many time before."

"That's eight who say Lady Keladry is untrustworthy. Who abstains?" Jon asked carefully. "That's one abstention," he said and marked it down as only one hand was raised. "And the rest of you believe she is trustworthy?"

There were nods all around the council table, including that of Wyldon. "Good," Jon replied. "Then the council believes that Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan is trustworthy and thereby meaning we can accept her word when she says she did not betray the Yamani Isles." He rose. "I believe we can break for lunch and we shall continue the deliberations after we have eaten."

- - -

"Father says that he doesn't know what on earth this realm is coming to!" a loud voice proclaimed from under Dom's window. "Had you heard that the council rejected his move to send the Lump home to the Yamani Isles to be killed? Apparently she's worth the lives of hundreds of brave men."

Kel grimaced as she recognised the voice. It was Joren. She turned quickly to check that Dom hadn't heard. If he had, he would have insisted in going out there and letting Joren know exactly what he thought of people who insulted his girlfriend. Whilst Kel thought that was sort of sweet, she didn't need him to risk himself in a fight when she was perfectly capable of handling things herself.

"Why would the Yamani Isles want her back?" Garvey asked.

"Didn't you hear?" Joren asked. "They want her back to face justice for betraying them or they shall declare war. The King refused to send her so we shall be at war soon enough. She has even corrupted Lord Wyldon who voted progressively!"

"Is everything alright?" a soft voice asked from behind her.

Kel turned and forced herself to grin. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Dom shrugged. "You stiffened, that was all."

"I'm fine, but I probably ought to be going. I've got…things to be doing." She let him kiss her goodbye and then smiled and left.

- - -

She twisted and turned, letting her borrowed glaive cut through the air, doing one of her most simple pattern dances that was used in the Isles to meditate. What was she to do? The King had decided, without asking her, that she would stay here and hundreds, maybe thousands of men and women would die in her place. Her friends and their family could get killed. Her only remaining family could be killed. Dom could be killed. She didn't know whether she could live with that, knowing that she was responsible for more deaths than she already was. On the other hand, what could she do about it? 

She switched dances to a slightly more complicated one, one that would require more concentration. She couldn't think about this now.

- - -

"Kel, are you okay?" Neal asked worriedly as he polished off a second bread roll.

Kel shook herself out of her daze. "Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"You haven't said much," Cleon said quietly from her left.

"I didn't have anything to say."

"We'd noticed."

Kel grinned slightly and pushed her food away. "Just tired. I might have an early night." She returned her tray and walked slowly out of the hall.

"Tired?" Neal echoed. "She can't be tired! She didn't leave her room until past the noon bell today! And she went to bed early the night before last!"

Dom shrugged. "She's got something on her mind and she isn't telling anyone. She seemed like she was making a life or death decision earlier today."

Roald's eyes widened. Had she found out? His father had sworn the council to secrecy. Neither he nor Roald had wanted Kel knowing what they had decided, because she wouldn't settle for staying at home and watching men die, she'd do something about it and everyone wanted her kept safe.

- - -

"Lady Kel!" Stefan exclaimed as he scrambled out of the hay where he had been sleeping. "What are you doing here at this time of the night?"

"I've got something I need to do." She walked over to Hoshi's stall and proceeded to ready her for riding.

"This late?"

Kel said nothing, but nodded. Grabbing her saddlebags she attached them deftly to Hoshi's tack. "Do me a favour Stefan, don't tell anyone you saw me until they ask, especially not Dom or Neal."

Stefan nodded. He was used to spies coming in and out of the palace with instructions like that, but never knights. He looked at the expression she wore and bowed. She looked like she had seen death. "Goddess bless Lady Knight," he said quietly as he opened the door and Hoshi galloped out into the night.

- - -

"What?" Jon demanded of Alanna.

"Kel's missing."

Jon froze in the middle of signing some papers. "Excuse me, but I could have sworn you just said the second Lady Knight was missing."

Alanna nodded. "I did. Dom reported that he was meant to have met her in an eating house a little before noon and she didn't show up. He went to look for her and found her rooms locked. He went to his cousin, who had a spare key for her rooms and they found her room tidy and her bed looked like it hadn't been slept in. Her clothes are gone, along with her weapons and armour. I questioned Stefan and he said that Kel left on Hoshi just after midnight."

Jon swore. "Did he find out which way she was going?"

Alanna shook her head. "Although one of the gate guards remembers the clatter of hooves in the early morning and that a lone rider was heading north out of the city."

"Do you think she found out?" Jon asked, dreading the answer.

"Yes. I would say it would be in her character to give herself up if she thought she could be responsible for people being killed. I expect she's on her way to Blue Harbour now."

Cursing, Jon ran to his study door. He poked his head out and shouted for the nearest page. "Get me Commander Farant of the Ninth Queen's Riders Company." When the page hesitated, Jon yelled, "Now!"

"And how is Farant going to be able to help you?" Alanna asked from where she was leaning against the wall.

"He's and his Riders are going after her. I'm sure she meant well, but we need her too much over here."

- - -

**A/N:** Okay, another chapter done. Let me know what you think. I've got all the chapters up to twenty-two completed in second draft and twenty-three nearly first-drafted. I'll need to give chapters seventeen to twenty-two a final draft and then I'll update. I realised that after this chapter they'll be another seven to nine chapters. Then I'll be done!

Thanks to everyone who has read so far, the response has been overwhelming, especially considering this is my first serious fanfic that I dared to publish here.

**And one other thing**…this is for Robinwyn, she wanted me to give her story a shout out, so I will. Her _History of Tortall_ story is well worth a read!

Hannah


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Disclaimer: **I guess it's this time again. I don't own any of Tammy's creations, however I do own: Ked, Jhedy, Tait, Salin, Jamil, Lord Parrton, Feran, the little girl with the gift at Mindelan, Judge Tremont (who gets no more than a brief mention), the black haired man that is a friend of Piers and Ilane, Farant, Saul, Ana, Naomi, Lora, Jacey, Essa, Jak, Ortun (a place, not a person), the street urchin, the merchant and the captain (Mysh).

Chapter Seventeen: Of Selling Horses and Other Things  
  
"You must be joking Farant!" 

Farant shook his head and his mop of curly brown locks flew out. "No, I got it straight from the King's mouth."

"We aren't body guards!" Saul, the newest member of the group protested. "Can't the girl's father send his own guards after her? We aren't paid to go traipsing all over the country to catch a run-away noble girl."

"If you would let me finish explaining?" Farant asked him with humour in his voice. "This isn't any run-away noble girl."

"Don't tell me Lianne's run away again!" Ana complained, thinking of the last time that the young royal had run away and the massive search that had taken place.

Naomi grinned. "I hardly think she would dare to anything like that again. His Majesty was most annoyed when she was finally recovered."

Farant nodded. "You're right, she wouldn't do anything like that. It isn't her we're after. Have any of you heard of Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan?"

All of them nodded, even Lora who had only just got back from Carthak and her duties to Kalasin there.

Farant smiled. "I thought you might have. What I'm about to tell you is completely confidential, and you can tell no one. Understand?"

His Riders nodded.

"I'm sure you knew that the Lady Knight was originally a Tortallan page and that she then trained for four years at the Yamani Emperor's Court to become one of the Emperor's Chosen Warriors. She spent a further two years in Yaman serving her Warrior Lord and then they came over here to guard the Yamani Princess. She had to return to the Yamani Isles so that she could take the Yamani version of the Chamber of Ordeal, but the Emperor had declared her a traitor, for reasons we don't know. He had her family killed as soon as they entered Yamani waters. Lady Kel survived and returned to the palace and was knighted. I'm pretty certain that you know all of what I have just told you." Farant looked around, closed the windows and the door, then sat back down again. "However, a week ago the King received an official message from the Yamani Emperor and his diplomats, saying that they had to hand Lady Kel over to them so that she could face the 'appropriate' justice or there would be war. The King informs me that 'appropriate' justice would be public flogging and then a long and very painful death. The King refused and most of his council agreed with him. They tried to hide what had happened from Lady Kel, as it was the general consensus that if the Lady Knight knew about what they had decided, she would insist on leaving for the Isles anyway. It appears that it hasn't worked though, she found out what had happened and left for the Isles last night. We are to catch up with her and persuade her to return to the castle."

"I hate to burst your bubble," Jacey said wryly. "But I highly doubt that we can persuade the Lady Knight to return to the castle."

"And if we have to fight her, we'd only get injured!" Essa pointed out. "I've seen her fighting with the long pole arm of hers; she wields it as well as Lady Alanna wields her sword."

"Better than, actually," Jak added. "And I heard she had beaten Lady Alanna at a sword duel."

Farant held up his hands to stop the comments. "I know. That's why the King insisted that we bring two others along with us. Apparently they'll be able to convince her that she's to come with us."

"Who?" Saul asked as he reached for a drink.

Farant shrugged. "The King said that they would meet us at the Rider stables."

"Of all the stupid things we have had to do, I think this one is the most ridiculous! Rescuing a Lady Knight from getting herself killed because she wants to hand herself over? Why don't we just let her hand herself over and then we would never have to fight a war?"

Farant sighed. "I've no idea; all I can presume is that Lady Kel means something to a lot of important people in this realm and that she can provide some sort of invaluable assistance if we ever do go to war." He stood. "Jacey, Naomi, Lora and Saul, I want you to pack your bags and then find us some food for the first part of the journey. Essa and Jak, can you find us a recent picture of the Lady Knight? Ana, you get us sixty gold nobles from the treasury and I'll start to ready the horses. Once you have the things I've asked for, meet me in the stables."

- - -

"Of all the stupid things to do!" Conal growled as he stood by his fastest horse outside the Rider stables.

Dom just shrugged. As soon as the King had told them what he and his council had decided, he knew that if Kel found out she would have found some way to get to the Yamani Isles. Then the King had gone on to say that she had been sighted heading north, presumably to Blue Harbour and Dom hadn't been surprised.

"Doesn't she realise that none of us want her dead?" Conal continued. "I would have thought that she would have been more considerate. She saw how loosing mother and father affected the family! Why didn't she think?"

"Ask her when we find her," Dom replied.

"You don't seem surprised that she had left," Conal said almost suspiciously.

"I'm not. I knew she wouldn't want men and women to die for her. She's had enough of people dying."

A man cleared his throat behind them and both Conal and Dom turned to see a man dressed in Rider uniform with the sign of a commander of his tunic. His curly brown hair fell into bright blue eyes.

"Commander Farant?" Conal asked.

The man nodded. "Yes. And you are?"

"Sir Conal of Mindelan and this is Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle."

"You are Lady Kel's husband?" Farant asked of Conal.

"Gods no!" Conal exclaimed. "I'm her brother. I take it we are leaving as soon as possible?"

Farant nodded and walked into the stables. With a practised deftness he started saddle the horses. "Can you tell me why His Majesty is so eager to get Lady Kel back?"

Conal shrugged and it was Dom who answered. "She has a detailed knowledge of the Yamani army and that is something that the King is anxious to get back. Also, her parents had many friends most of whom were also close to Kel and they aren't happy at the thought of her being killed."

"Farant!" a voice yelled and a dark skinned woman ran into the yard, accompanied by a fair-headed man. The women threw a folder at Farant and when Dom studied her closely he decided she must be of Bazhir descent. The man grinned at Dom and walked over.

"You'd do well to keep off Essa, I think you'll find she's mine."

Dom grinned, thinking of Kel. "No problems there. I'm Dom of Masbolle." He held out his hand to shake.

The man grasped his hand. "Jak of Coppercove. I'll presume you're one of the men who are meant to be persuading Lady Kel to come home?"

Dom nodded. "Yeah, the other man over there is her brother, some of the only remaining close family she has. If the two of us can't do it, we'll have to rely on brute force. She isn't leaving this country."

Jak tilted his head to the side and considered Dom's tone. At first he had thought that the whole mission was stupid, but now he wasn't so sure. Dom sounded like Jak knew he would if Essa had gone missing and was stupid enough to try and give herself over to people who would kill her. "We'll get her back."

Dom nodded. "We'd better." As other people started to pour into the yard, he said, "Care to tell me who they are?"

Jak nodded and led his already saddled horse out of the stables. "The tanned woman is Lora, she serves the Empress Kalasin in Carthak whenever the Empress goes on a progress. The man next to her, on the dapple pony is Jacey. He's cheeky but means well. The man talking with Jacey is his younger brother Saul. Naomi is the black-haired woman fighting the spirited pony. Keep out of her pony's way, he can be very vicious when he wants. Essa's my girl, she's the one you saw me with earlier and is a Bazhir. I'm sure you already know Farant and Ana is his second-in-command. She's the tall girl handing over the money. If it turns out that Lady Kel's left the country, it'll be Ana that will take charge of the chase. She's a sea merchants daughter and is used to sailing."

Dom nodded and committed the names to memory.

Farant swung into his saddle. "Shall we get going?"

- - -

Kel shivered as she rubbed Hoshi down in the cold water of the stream, trying to remove the dust from his shining black coat. She had heard that there was a horse fair in Ortun, the next village along. She would be selling Hoshi there and would then walk the rest of the way to Blue Harbour where she would hopefully be able to secure herself a ship to take her to the Isles. She could take Hoshi with her, but as soon as she arrived on Yamani soil, everything she had would belong to the Emperor because of the warrant out for her arrest. Although she didn't want her prized sword to go the Emperor, she wasn't going to venture over there unarmed. But she didn't need to take Hoshi so she was leaving him. If she took him with her, he would be killed, something that Kel wanted to avoid if she could. Hopefully whoever bought him would look after him.

"Come on boy, let's get you to the fair." She mounted up, bare back for she had sold the tack to a merchant a few miles back. Clucking to Hoshi, she headed for the fair.

There seemed to be more humans than horses, most of them haggling over prices and none of the horses seemed happy. They were covered in fleas, had matted coats and open sores.

"I can't sell you to any of these people!" Kel whispered to Hoshi. "Not if they're going to look after you like that!" As she was about to leave, she heard the clatter of horses hooves and the coaxing voice of a woman.

"Come on! Just a little further!"

Kel turned to see a woman she recognised. It was Onua, the horsemistress for the Riders. It had been she who had been assigned to look after the horses for the delegates from the Yamani Isles. Kel turned to Hoshi. "Want to go to Onua?"

Hoshi whinnied and gently head-butted Kel's shoulder.

Kel laughed, but her laughter was filled with sadness. She would miss her horse, they'd fought well together and it was the only thing that she had left from her time in the Yamani Isles because she had left Hoshi behind when she went for her Tribulation as the boat master hadn't liked horses. Then Kel sighed. How was she meant to sell Hoshi without Onua recognising her? If Onua knew where she was, no doubt she'd find some way to let Jon know.

"You!" Kel yelled to a street urchin who was busy trying to pick a merchant's pocket. "Come here!"

The child backed off, not wanting to be caught.

"Do you want to earn gold nobles?" Kel asked.

The child's eyes widened at the thought of so much money. "What do I have to do?" he asked suspiciously.

"Take this horse and sell it to the woman over there." Kel pointed at Onua. "If you get me thirty gold nobles for it, I'll give you ten."

The boy nodded and took Hoshi's reins.

Kel placed her arms around Hoshi's neck. "Be good. Maybe one day a proper knight will ride you." She turned to the boy. "Take him," she ordered. As she watched the boy walk off, she bit back the tears that threatened to cascade down her cheeks. If she allowed herself to cry, she'd loose face. As she saw the child approach Onua, she slipped off into the crowd. She couldn't stay, Onua would want to know where the boy had got the horse, and he'd point her out. He could keep the money. Right now she had more important things to be doing. She needed to make her way to Blue Harbour and from there to the Yamani Isles and the cells in the palace dungeons.

- - -

Onua Chamtong looked at the fine horse that the street urchin was selling. "Where did you get this?" she asked sharply. A horse like this was worth at least fifty gold nobles, an urchin wouldn't have a horse like this. An urchin wouldn't have a horse at all!

"The noble Lady said she'd give me ten gold nobles to sell this to you for thirty gold nobles," the urchin explained.

"Which noble Lady?" Onua demanded. She had seen this horse before, she was sure of it.

"That o…" the boy turned around and started to point but couldn't find his target. "She's gone miss!"

Onua sighed. "What did she look like?"

"Um…very tall, brown hair. She wore breeches and had a sword and shield. She looked like something out of the myths, a lady knight. But that weren't no Lady Alanna!"

"Horse Lords! Jon is going to kill me!" Onua swore as she recognised the horse and by that, the rider. She'd just let Keladry of Mindelan disappear.

- - -

"Kind sir, can you tell me where you got this?" Dom asked a passing merchant as he gestured to a saddle that was hanging off of the side of the merchant's caravan.

Farant cursed the King and his insistence that they had taken these two along. It was a wonder that the realm wasn't over-run by raiders and immortals if this was the sort of man that made up the King's Own. He would have thought that considering what Jak had told him about Dom's relationship with Lady Kel, Dom would have been more eager to find Kel and wouldn't have been off shopping, as it appeared he was.

"Dom, we need to get riding! We want to catch Lady Kel before she leaves Tortallan waters! Preferably before she leaves dry land."

"Hang on!" Dom held out his hand as he listened to the merchant's reply.

"A Lady Warrior sold it to me yesterday. Were you looking to buy it?"

"Which way did she go?" Dom asked. No other Lady Warrior would have a saddle with the Yamani symbols for health and victory burnt into them. And if his translation of the Yamani writing on the back was correct, and he wasn't sure it was because Kel had only been teaching him for a few months, but it was a phrase he had seen engraved into all of her weapons and most of her possessions. She had told him once that it meant 'property of the Yamani Emperor'.

The merchant seemed surprised at Dom's question but answered it nonetheless. "She asked about a horse fair at Ortun, maybe she was headed there."

Dom nodded his thanks and gave the merchant five gold nobles for the saddle.

"Are you quite finished the shopping?" Farant asked of Dom.

"She went to Ortun," Dom replied as he tied the saddle onto his saddlebags. "To the horse fair." He gestured to the saddle. "That was hers, just in case you weren't listening. She's obviously selling on her stuff and is planning on walking the rest of the way to Blue Harbour. That was yesterday. If she ran, she could be at Blue Harbour now."

"To Ortun then!" Farant cried as he wheeled his pony around towards the coastal town.

- - -

"Onua!" Lora called as the Riders dismounted fluently. "I don't suppose you've seen Lady Keladry, have you?"

Onua sighed and turned away.

"Onua!" Farant called as he ran up behind her. "We need to know!"

Onua nodded. "I know. She was here. I didn't see her though."

"Then how do you know she was here?" Ana asked brusquely.

"Hoshi!" Dom cried as Onua gestured to the horse picketed by four others. To Farant he said, "It's her horse!"

"She gave it to a street urchin with orders to sell it to me for thirty gold nobles and that he would get ten of them, but she left before he could give her the money."

"When was this?" Conal asked as he rode forwards.

"Late last night," Onua replied. "She'll be at Blue Harbour by now."

Ana cursed. "With this sort of weather she'll have no trouble finding someone to take her across, if she has the right amount of money."

Dom looked up at the summer sun that was bearing heavily down on the coast. "You're right," he said, his voice heavy with sadness. "We'll be lucky to catch her now." But he still took Hoshi's reins when Onua offered them to him.

"Don't give up!" Jak ordered as he turned his pony around. "We'll catch her yet."

- - -

"Visiting family?" the captain asked as he negotiated the tricky waters just outside the Blue Harbour.

Kel shook her head. "No, I've got an urgent appointment with the Emperor. He won't be happy if I miss it."

The young man grinned, showing he was missing a tooth. "Well we'll just have to make sure we get you there quickly then, won't we?"

Kel nodded and put a calm face on as she watched the docks disappearing and with them, every chance she had of living.

- - -

**A/N: **Another chapter finished. What did you think? The good news for you people is that I've finished the final drafts of the next chapters and I'm just trying to get the internet to work so I can upload it. I'll try to have up to Chapter Twenty-two up for Saturday. However, after that the updates will be a lot less frequent because my sister and I are being shipped off to boarding school. FUN! Not! However, I will try my best to get this whole story finished by the end of September.

**And one more thing…** If any of you people out there are reading my other story, Protector of the King's Own, the next chapter is getting there. Ducks behind shield to avoid rotten fruit And yes I know it's been ages, but I'm great at procrastinating. My mum says that if there was a GCSE in it, I'd pass with A star. I promise I'll have another chapter up before September. And once I've finished this, you can expect much more frequent updates. This is the last time I try to write two stories at once. Well, two that I'm sticking up here. I don't see how you guys do it!

Hannah


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Disclaimer: **I guess it's this time again. I don't own any of Tammy's creations, however I do own: Ked, Jhedy, Tait, Salin, Jamil, Lord Parrton, Feran, the little girl with the gift at Mindelan, Judge Tremont (who gets no more than a brief mention), the black haired man that is a friend of Piers and Ilane, Farant, Saul, Ana, Naomi, Lora, Jacey, Essa, Jak, Ortun (a place, not a person), the street urchin, the merchant, Gavan and the captain (Mysh).

**Chapter Eighteen: Boats**

****

Everyone working in the docks looked up as ten horses clattered into the roughest area. It was there that fights broke out frequently and drug smugglers traded their wares. The men who were at the docks were naturally suspicious of the law keepers. Cold glares followed the ten riders as they made their way nervously through the damp streets and towards a boat. Only one person seemed totally at home there and that was Ana.

"I thought you said her parents were merchants, not sea faring thugs!" Dom whispered quietly to Jak.

"I did. I just neglected to mention that her parents and she have some very dubious contacts. It has become very useful at times though."

"Gavan!" Ana yelled, her voice becoming less cultured and more that of a street fighter than one of the Queen's Riders.

"Ana!" a young man yelled as he turned to see her. "Great to see you again!"

Ana dismounted and hugged him tightly.

"Something tells me you didn't come to help us get drunk," the man addressed as Gavan said as he gestured to the tankard in his hand.

Ana shook her head. "No. I'm here on business. I've reason to believe that a woman left the docks under an hour ago. Did you see her?"

"I've seen plenty of women in the last hour, but I've an idea you're not talking about them."

Dom was about to move forwards and demand an answer when Jak held him back.

"Let Ana handle this."

Dom sighed and stayed mounted.

"You're right. I'm looking for the Lady Knight. She would have been fairly conspicuous."

Gavan laughed, his bright blue eyes dancing. "You were right there. She walked down here with her shield and weapons and asked for a ship. The first man she asked tried to attack her, he paid for it though. He's over there, nursing his wounds." Gavan gestured to a man slumped against the wall, long curved cuts were scattered over his body and Dom could see that Kel had used her glaive. "The second man she asked sent her to Mysh and he took her out. They left maybe half and hour ago."

Ana gritted her teeth and marched towards the nearest boat. "I am requisitioning this for the use of the Crown. I'll return it as soon as I can." She turned to the Riders, Conal and Dom. "Are you coming? Or do I have to take the famed second Lady Knight on on my own?"

Dom shook his head. "You must be joking. Of course I'm coming." He dismounted and led his horse onto the boat and was followed by Conal and the rest of the Riders.

- - -

"My Lady! My Lady!" Mysh whispered as he shook Kel awake. "There's another boat pulling alongside us. They're wanting to board."

Kel pushed away memories of the last time she had sailed and the Yamani Warriors had boarded. The havoc they had wreaked was something she preferred not to think about. Although these boarders would be Tortallan and her family wasn't there for them to kill, she still didn't want to be caught.

"Speed up. I need to get to the Isles. If anyone asks you about it later, just say I ordered you at sword point to do it. I don't care. It won't matter. I won't be around."

Mysh stared at the strange woman. "What are you running from?"

"No one!" Kel snapped. "Speed up!"

"But my Lady, there's a Rider group there and a knight!"

Kel swallowed. "Let me onto the deck."

Mysh stood aside and Kel ascended the ladder. The boat that Mysh had been talking about was sailing parallel with them only fifty or so metres away. Kel turned away as she saw a man on deck wave to her. That was why she had left in the night, she hadn't wanted to have to say goodbye to those that she loved, something she knew she wouldn't be able to do and then she would end up staying and letting hundreds of men die in her place.

"Speed up!" she snapped harshly to Mysh. "We need to escape them."

"What have you done lady?" he asked as he ran to follow her orders.

"Nothing illegal yet. Just get us out of Tortallan waters and if they insist on boarding, get under deck and stay there."

Mysh stepped back away from the strange woman who reached down into the cabin below and pulled out the long pole weapon he had seen her using at the docks to bring a tough grown man to the floor weeping like a baby. "Who are you really?"

"Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan," Kel replied, her eyes fixed on the boat as it fell behind because of the sudden acceleration of the boat that Kel was on. She saw no reason to lie any further; she didn't think that Mysh was going to turn her over, not after the money she had bribed him with.

"You really shouldn't be going over to the Isles not after that w…" Mysh paused and looked at Kel in horror. "It's you that was attacked!"

Kel nodded. "Yes. It was me."

"So why are you going back?" Mysh demanded as he deftly turned the boat to the left.

"Because I've got to back to face justice so that Tortall doesn't have to go to war. If you don't get me away, we'll be at war." Kel gave her glaive an experimental swing and made sure that the man on deck could clearly see her. It was a signal that she was perfectly willing to fight her way out of Tortallan waters to the relative safety of the six mile strip of international waters between Tortallan waters and Yamani waters.

"But if you're going to stop the war, why do they want to stop you?" Mysh asked in amazement.

Kel shrugged. "Court politics apparently." She pointed to the man on the desk. "I think that may be my brother. He wants me back so he can shout at me and tell me how stupid and inconsiderate I've been by running off and trying to save the lives of hundreds of men and women."

"He would do that?" Mysh asked in astonishment. "I thought nobles were meant to be courteous!"

Kel grinned. "He worries about me a lot. After all, my two brothers and I are his only close family and we all fight, even though Anders is only in the Mindelan Guard. We all worry about each other. So be warned, if Conal gets aboard he'll resort to hitting me over the head to get me home."

Mysh chuckled. "Then we'll have to make sure that he doesn't get aboard, won't we?"

Kel nodded. "Thank the Goddess that I've found someone who'll help me."

- - -

"Three miles until international waters!" Saul called from below deck.

Ana cursed and turned to sails slightly, catching that extra bit of wind. "This is one of those times when I wish I had a mage in the group. We've a mage wind captured in the sails, but no mage to use it!"

"What do you mean?" Essa demanded as she fell into Jak's arms. "I've the Gift!"

"You do?" Ana asked in surprise.

Essa nodded. "Yes, I just don't use it because it tires me so much I can hardly fight. Besides, it feels like cheating!"

"Can you activate the mage wind?" Ana asked, cursing herself for not reading Essa's background thoroughly.

"Should she even attempt it if it tires her out so much she can't fight?" Jak asked, his arms tightening around Essa protectively.

Ana and Farant nodded. "Of course," the latter replied. "It shouldn't cost her much more than a few days strength. We can cope with seven fighters for a few days."

Jak growled, but knew better than to defy both his commander and the second-in-command.

Essa turned slightly so she could see the sails and for a few brief seconds, the air around her turned static and glowed a deep blue. Jak was horrified to see the colour fade rapidly from her face and her hands start to shake. He walked forwards, about to pick her up and take her below when Ana placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Wait," she commanded. "She's not quite finished."

It was only when the boat suddenly increased in speed that Ana allowed Jak to put Essa to bed to get the rest that she badly needed by that time.

- - -

Kel stared in dismay as the boat found some speed and she saw that the sails glowed a deep blue common of a mage-captured wind. She watched as nine figures gathered on the deck, equipped with weapons and ready to fight. As the boat drew nearer, she could see that seven wore the white shirts, brown tunics and trousers as well as riding boots. They bore the emblem of the Queen's Riders on their tunics, a crimson horse rearing on a bronze background circled by a ring. The other two wore different uniforms. She spotted her brother in the grey and blue of the Mindelan colours and saw the all-too-familiar uniform of the King's Own.

"That's low!" she hissed as guessed who inhabited the uniform. "Really low!"

"What's low, my Lady?" Mysh asked cautiously.

 "They sent one of the King's Own sergeants," Kel said unwilling to say much more.

"And this sergeant means a lot to you?" Mysh hazarded.

Kel smiled slightly. "You could say that."

"Then what do you want me to do?"

Kel wore a pained expression on her face. She took a deep breath and Mysh thought he saw tears in the corner of her dreamer's hazel eyes. "Keep going."

Mysh nodded and walked away. He glanced back and saw the woman wiping tears off of her cheeks as she readied her glaive for the inevitable fight.

- - -

Dom looked on in horror as he watched Kel preparing to fight. She really was serious about getting to the Isles. They had a little less than two miles to catch her and get her off of the boat.

"Right, Ana, whilst we keep Lady Kel distracted, you and Saul can take the wheel of the boat, by force if necessary and turn the boat back towards land. Jak, you stay here and keep this boat running alongside the other," Farant instructed. "Whatever you do, try not to kill the Lady Knight!"

Dom grimaced at the thought and Naomi clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't worry sergeant, we'll get your girl back, by whatever means it takes."

Dom smiled at her and leant on the rails as an under-hand method of securing Kel's safety came to mind.

- - -

As the boat drew alongside, Kel could see Dom leaning against the rails, his hand on the hilt of his sword. The look on his face suggested he was deep in thought. "You're a bloody idiot!" Conal shouted as soon as they were in hearing range. 

Kel shrugged. "I guess it's one of my failings." She turned to Dom who was studying her intently. "What can I say? I'm sorry."

Dom's gaze flicked to her face and met her in the eyes. "I hope you wrote a letter to Meathead, apologising for getting both of us killed."

"What?" Kel demanded her voice low. The boats were close enough now for her to lean over and she did so, grabbing Dom's hand.

"Well, I'm not going to let you go to your death alone, am I? Do you think I would really do that?"

"You'd better!" Kel hissed. Her Yamani face hid all sign of worry that coursed through her at the thought of Dom's death. "You wouldn't dare!"

Conal appeared behind Dom. "I hate to say it, but I think he would. But it won't matter, he won't be alone, I'll join the two of you and then the rest of the Rider group will probably come. All eleven of us can die together!"

Kel fought the urge to punch her brother. She made the mistake of looking into Dom's sapphire eyes. Where there was usually a glint of mischief, his eyes were all serious and filled with worry. As she looked away she felt the tears flowing down her cheeks. She couldn't have any more of her friends dying.

"My Lady?" Mysh asked from the wheel.

"Stop the boat."

- - -

**A/N:** I'll apologise for the length, but that seemed like a good place to stop it. What did you think?

Hannah


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Disclaimer: **I guess it's this time again. I don't own any of Tammy's creations, however I do own: Ked, Jhedy, Tait, Salin, Jamil, Lord Parrton, Feran, the little girl with the gift at Mindelan, Judge Tremont (who gets no more than a brief mention), the black haired man that is a friend of Piers and Ilane, Farant, Saul, Ana, Naomi, Lora, Jacey, Essa, Jak, Ortun (a place, not a person), the street urchin, the merchant and the captain (Mysh).

Chapter Nineteen: And so it begins… 

"Hey, are you okay?" Dom asked as he walked up behind Kel and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Kel had been leaning against the barrier watching as the buoys that marked international waters got smaller and smaller. "Why couldn't you have just let me escape?"

Dom titled his head to one side as he stopped to consider the question that he hadn't considered once during the chase. "I don't know," he said honestly. "I just didn't want you to leave. I love you too much, so do all of your friends. Meathead probably wouldn't ever talk to me again if I'd let you die. You know what he's like."

Kel sighed. "I guess. I…" she trailed off as the man Dom had pointed out as Farant walked up. "Yes?" she asked calmly.

"Why?" Farant ran a hand through his curly hair as Kel shrugged.

"Why not?" she asked. "Are you telling me if you could save the lives of hundreds of men and women, you wouldn't?"

Farant sighed. "Of course not, but I'm only a Rider Commander, not a Lady Knight!"

Kel looked at him with surprise. "And? Why should that make any difference?"

"They could easily train another commander, but it takes eight years to make a knight!"

"In Yaman they have a saying," Kel said slowly. "Translated it runs something like this: Never doubt your worth, for each man is a piece of puzzle and without all of the pieces, it is incomplete."

"Very nice, I'm sure. But in real life it isn't really practical."

"It is. I mean, think about it. If you died, the whole group ordering would have to be shifted. Your second-in-command would have to get used to commanding and would need to choose themselves a second-in-command. That's only within this group. What about your family and friends? The people who know and respect you? Those who trained you? You aren't worthless to them. It's the same with me. I'm not worthless to some people, but I mean more to less people than you do. Besides, I had the opportunity to save lives, of course I was going to take it. I don't want any more people I know to die, enough have died already." Kel sighed as she thought of Ked.

"Kel!" Conal yelled. "I want a word!"

Kel grinned as she slipped out of Dom's grip. "Wait for the yells."

- - -

The docks were burning. Great plumes of smoke billowed up into the clear sky and screams cut through the air, making Kel shiver with horror. They were so raw and scared. Some of the voices belonged only to little children; girls and boys that should have their whole ahead of them.

"It's started," Jacey whispered. His normally cheeky eyes were serious and he looked almost world-weary, an expression that did not suit someone of his age.

Kel nodded. "Yes, it has."

They stood in silence, studying the devastation ahead of them.

"What is going on there?" Farant asked as his quick eyes took in the chaos they were quickly approaching.

Kel turned to face him. "Yamani raiders." Her voice was quiet and Dom thought he detected a hint of shame in it.

"How could they do this?" Farant exclaimed, his eyes telling Kel exactly what he thought of the horror happening around him.

"How could they do what? How could they attack you? How could they burn things?" Kel ran a hand through her hair and wished more than ever that she had escaped.

"Burn things! It's callous! Being burnt has to be the worst way to die and they are burning children there!" Farant sounded angry.

Kel laughed bitterly. "It's a technique we got from you."

Dom noted her slip and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She still referred to herself as a Yamani sometimes, despite the things that they had done to her.

"When I first arrived in the Isles as a young child, I couldn't go out. I had to hide for fear that the Yamanis would rip me to pieces. Only months before my parents were assigned to work out a peace treaty, Tortallan raiders had done the unimaginable. They had tied up thirty-four children and burnt them to death. Then they proceeded to ransack the nearby houses, killing all that moved." Kel regarded Farant with an almost cold look.

"We didn't!" Farant argued. "No raiders have ever been sent across to the Isles!"

Kel shrugged. "That's what the Emperor will say about these raiders. We're not at war, so we can't say that they are Yamani raiders, just as I can't say they were Tortallan raiders that attacked the Isles. But we both know the truth." She turned away. "If you'll excuse me, I've got a battle to be preparing for."

"You can't fight them! You'll just get yourself killed!" Farant protested as Kel went in search of her glaive.

Kel turned to look at him and the look in her eyes was one of pity. "Don't you understand? I'm the only one that would stand any chance against them. I wield this thing," she hefted her glaive. "Like one of them and I've been told I rank among the top ten young warriors."

"And we're equally as well trained with swords!"

Kel shrugged. "You're sword won't get any where near one of those warriors. They have glaives and other pole arms that are equally as dangerous. You can't beat a pole arm with a sword. It's just not possible. The pole arms have a longer reach."

"Well in that case, you aren't fighting them," Farant said slowly as if he was thinking and making his plan up as he went along. "We'll try and sneak out and only fight is we have to. We can ride to the palace and inform the King, he can send out a company of the King's Own or a group of knights."

"I'm fighting them," Kel said stubbornly.

"Oh no you're not!" a voice from behind her said firmly. "As a knight that is your senior, I am ordering you to obey Farant."

"Conal!" Kel complained.

Her brother shrugged. "I'm not having you risk your life. You know better than anyone does how well these men fight. We sneak out, only fighting if we have to. Essa's still in a bad state and she can't fight. You'll do as Farant says."

Kel scowled at her brother, but she knew that his plan was better than hers was. Still, she would have relished the fact to fight someone again and to somehow put right some of the wrongs in life. "Yes, I'll do what he says."

Conal nodded to her and Kel could see something that looked like sympathy in his eyes. She worked hard to keep her anger out of her face. She didn't need his sympathy! She was a warrior and if they were facing a battle situation she had the self-discipline to obey her commander and not to run off and follow her own agenda. Well, most of the time, she mentally corrected herself.

"Good." Farant nodded to Kel and then turned to Conal. "Will you help Jak and I tie Essa to her horse? She's adamant that she's riding, but we all know there's now way she'll be able to do that. We're going to have to resort to brute force to get tied to her horse and we could do with another hand."

As Conal nodded, Kel recognised Essa's spirit as one similar to her own. And if this was her, she'd just be humiliated to be tied to her horse. "Let her ride."

"What?" Farant asked in amazement.

"I _said_, let her ride. You can tie her horse to mine and I'll protect her. Do you really want to humiliate her that badly?"

"Humiliate?" Farant echoed.

"Do you have to repeat everything that she says?" Dom snapped. "Of course you'll humiliate her! Have you ever been tied to your horse?"

Farant shook his head silently.

"Well let me tell you, it's very humiliating! Of course she isn't going to settle for being tied on. If she's up to protesting about being tied on, she's up to riding." Dom reached for the halberd that he took with him as his secondary weapon. "Only, I'll protect her, that'll leave Kel free to give the rest of you assistance if you need it."

Farant shrugged. "If you're sure." As Kel studied him, she became convinced that he was actually scared of Dom.

"I am." Dom swung his halberd. "Kel, care to give me a practise?"

Kel grinned and nodded.

- - -

Kel sat tall on Hoshi's back as they slowly made their way through the deserted streets. The raiders had already been this way, she could tell by the smell of burnt skin and the dead bodies scattered through the street. She balanced her glaive across Hoshi's back and turned to reach into her saddlebags. She pulled out a handkerchief and tied it over her face so it covered her nose and mouth. She didn't want to breathe in the foul air that the Yamani raiders had made worse.

She heard a clatter and a coarse voice cursed. Kel froze and then spun around, bringing her glaive up instinctively. Many years of training had enhanced her training to a level where it was almost spooky, but today that saved her life. Her glaive smashed against a heavier version of the _naginata_.

"Mindelan!" he yelled as he tried to yank her glaive from his grip.

Kel ignored his shouts. She wasn't surprised he recognised her; no doubt the Emperor had wanted posters bearing her picture up all over the Isles.

"Only a coward runs away!" he hissed in his native language, but Kel said nothing, unnerving him further.

As they fought, Kel could tell he had obviously hadn't been trained at the Emperor's courts. His fighting was pitiful and lacked the smoothness and grace that a trained warrior had. It was all too easy for Kel to slip past his guard and run the blade of her glaive through his neck.

She turned to see where the others were and found them busy fighting themselves. Other raiders had been alerted by her opponent's cries and had come to his rescue. A little late but nonetheless, they would still cause a delay.

With a Yamani war cry, Kel launched herself off of her horse and at Farant's opponent. There are definitely advantages from jumping off of horses, Kel thought wryly as she brought her glaive down on the raider's unprotected head and cracked it open. Swiftly Farant slit the man's throat and together they turned to help Naomi.

"Where are Essa and Dom?" Farant panted as he ran his sword through an unsuspecting back.

Kel stabbed a man in the stomach and used the other end of her glaive to rap another man soundly on the head. "No idea. I think they got separated from us as soon as the first attack came." She sensed the commander's worry for Essa and said, "Don't worry, she's in capable hands."

"She better be! She has a lot of potential!"

Kel didn't reply as she placed a well-aimed kick onto the pole of one of the raider's glaives and snapped in cleanly in half. These men are clearly badly equipped, Kel thought as she pivoted on her right foot. As she glanced up the alley she met a sight that made her blood run cold. The Emperor's Chosen Warriors. Of course, they weren't wearing their usual uniforms, parts had been ripped off to prevent identification, but that didn't matter to Kel. She could tell that they were Chosen Warriors from the way they ran and were focused on one thing and one thing only, the battle at hand. That was the sort of focus taught to those that trained at the Emperor's Courts, one that Kel had never liked. She hated it when her body took over, she felt like at any minute she might fly out of control and kill anyone and everyone.

"Farant," she hissed. "Do you see those men running down the street?"

Farant glanced up and then turned back to his opponent. "Yes," he replied through gritted teeth.

"They're the Emperor's Chosen Warriors, the best of the best. If they get near us, we're as good as dead. We need to pull back!"

Farant shook his head. "We see it out here."

"Now who's being stupid?" Kel yelled. "We. Will. Die!" She stabbed his opponent, slapped Farant and turned to where the rest of the Riders and Conal were fighting. "Mount up now!" she yelled. "We're moving out."

Farant shook his head. "We stay!" he yelled and Kel swore. His orders would override hers because the Riders were his group, under his command. She knocked him firmly on the head and caught his unconscious body in her arms. She could worry about how unethical knocking out your own commander was later.

Conal looked up the alley and visibly paled. He knew as well as Kel did how ruthless the Chosen Warriors were, after all, his only sister had nearly become one and they had killed his father. He turned around and saw the Riders still fighting. "Move!" he roared and ran for his mount.

Kel was doing the same. She vaulted onto Hoshi and in keeping with _his _Yamani training he didn't even flinch. Kel unceremoniously dumped the unconscious Farant in front of her and whistled to his horse. Then she kicked Hoshi into a gallop, nearly shouted for joy as she saw that Farant's horse, Shade, was following them, and behind him was her brother with six of the Riders.

"We ride as far as we can. We need to put as much distance between us and the Warriors as possible!" Kel yelled to them and lent as close to her horse's mane as Farant's unconscious body would let her.

"We don't answer to you!" Jak yelled back. "Farant is our commander."

Conal turned to him. "You obey Kel for the moment. We ride!"

Jak scowled at Conal but still kicked his horse to go faster.

As they thundered out of the dock area and up onto the hills, Kel nearly cried with happiness as she saw a hundred men on horseback with their white cloaks streaming out behind them as they raced towards the fiery docks.

"The Third Company!" Jak yelled with relief. "Saved!"

Kel shook her head. "Not yet. We've still got in excess of sixty warriors in the docks. They're not leaving alive." She sounded so cold that Jak shivered despite the suffocating heat of the nearby fires and the sun. She brought Hoshi to stop and let the now recovering Farant climb onto his own horse. "My Lord Raoul!" Kel yelled as the Own approached.

Raoul slowed his horse and came to meet her.

"Lady Knight Keladry."

"Sir, Dom and one of the Riders of in there. The Rider can't ride at the moment. He's meant to be protecting her."

"How many raiders are there?" Raoul asked quickly.

"When we docked I sighted three small ships. The ships carry about twenty men each. At least one of the ships carried some of the Emperor's Chosen Warriors, and they're the best of the best."

Raoul nodded and signalled to his men. They started to slow slightly. The Knight Commander turned back to Kel. "Are you coming back in? You don't have to, I'm sure we can handle them on our own."

"I'm coming." She turned to Conal. "I'm going back in, keep Farant out and if Essa and Dom appear, let us know." She joined Raoul at the head of the columns of men and kicked Hoshi into a trot.

"Why are you keeping a Commander out of battle?" Raoul asked as they headed towards the city.

Kel readjusted her grip on her glaive and murmured soothingly to Hoshi. "He wasn't thinking straight, sir. I don't want him to loose his life unnecessarily, so it seemed the best thing to do."

"Not thinking straight?" Raoul questioned.

Kel shook her head. "We were in an alley way and there was nine of us. I spotted at least fifteen of the Emperor's Warriors coming towards us and I told him of their fighting ability and suggested we retreated. He refused and I told him we'd be killed. So I shouted to the Riders and my brother to retreat, but he yelled for them to stay. I had to knock him out to get him out of there."

Raoul grinned at her. "Maybe once we're finished here, we'll have a little talk about something called diplomacy."

Kel shrugged. "If you want, but I don't think there's much you can tell me about diplomacy. My parents were diplomats, remember?"

Raoul sighed. He had forgotten. He glanced sideways at the woman who now rode next to him. She was as much of a legend as Alanna was and was famous for her features that were often calm and serene. She was displaying that calm now. Her face was firmly set to show no emotions and her eyes were level and fixed on the burning docks. "I'm sorry," he said gently. "I hadn't meant to bring up memories."

Kel turned to him with a smile and if Raoul hadn't heard so much about this woman from his sergeant, he would have thought her cold and callous. "It's okay sir."

Raoul nodded and turned to his men. "We still have two fighters in there," he yelled, his voice pitched to carry over screams of those still trapped in the buildings. "One you know, Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle and one you may not know, a rider by the name of…"

"Essa Ibn Cazzir, a Bazhir recruit," Kel filled in.

Raoul nodded his thanks to her. "We want those two out alive! Search for them. If you happen to stumble across the raiders, feel free to take their heads off. No one searches by himself. Everyone pair up and then get searching." He turned to face Kel. "I'll search with you. Come on, lead me to the last place you saw Dom and Essa."

Kel nodded and readjusted the handkerchief over her face.

"It smells that bad?" Raoul asked.

Kel nodded and kicked Hoshi into a gallop. She needed to find Dom.

- - -

"Do you hear that sir?" Kel asked as she brought Hoshi to a sudden halt.

Raoul followed suit and listened hard. Eventually he shook his head.

Kel shrugged and urged Hoshi into a walk. The cry came again. "Sir, there is definitely someone calling." She listened again. "I think they've found Dom!"

Raoul watched in amusement as a light lit in Kel's eyes and made a mental note to remind his sergeant not to hurt this woman. Having seen her fight close up, he was certain that as good as Dom was he wouldn't be able to beat the Yamani training she had. If Dom annoyed her he could find himself answering to her blade.

Kel kicked Hoshi into a canter and then a gallop. Using tracking skills she had picked up during her time in Tortall and her hearing that had been honed during her time in the Isles she wove through the maze-like alleys like a madwoman. Raoul followed at a speed that equalled hers, guiding his horse with his knees whilst he reached deep into his saddlebag to find the medical kit.

Kel turned a sharp corner and Hoshi skidded, sending both rider and horse smashing into a wooden house. It hadn't burned and was one of the only ones not to.

"Wardings against fire," Raoul commented as he gave Kel a hand up. "We have ourselves a mage home. I wouldn't go too near it, some of them are warded against intruders."

Kel nodded at the tall man but Raoul could see that her thoughts were else where.

"What's the matter?" he asked suspiciously.

She didn't answer but her expression showed Raoul all he needed to know. He followed her gaze to where Flyndan and Quasim were bent over two limp bodies.

- - -

She kicked the body of the dead man in frustration. Having recovered from her shock of thinking that it was Dom, she now had to work really hard not to scream.

She heard Jamil's calm and soothing voice echo deep in her memories. _Calm, serene as a lake, go on, look into that lake, allow yourself to fall deep into, go down and down, you are the lake, smooth, calm…_She breathed deeply and tried to think calmly. What needed to be done? Well, what needed to be done other than finding Dom?

"Jak," she muttered. "I need to find Jak and tell him."

"Did you say something?" Raoul asked from her side.

Kel shook her head. "Just thinking aloud. Have you seen any of the Riders? I need to let Jak know about…" she trailed off as she looked at the body again.

"Why Jak?" Raoul asked suspiciously. "Shouldn't you be telling the commander?" The look that Kel gave him explained everything. "Ah."

Kel nodded. "Yes, 'ah' is right. So, have you seen any of the Riders?"

Raoul shook his head. "I don't think any of them came in with us."

Kel swallowed. "Right. Can I borrow one of your men and his horse?" she asked as she started to fashion a stretcher from blood stained Yamani clothes and wooden planks from the houses.

Raoul nodded. "Um…Lerant!" he finally called. "I need you and your horse over here now!"

Kel watched as a young man, not much older than she was, set a standard down and turned his horse. The horse picked its way over deliberately, avoiding body parts and discarded weapons.

"Yes, my Lord?" he asked as he appraised Kel with interest. He was finally meeting the woman who had Dom in such a state and had finally made him abandon all the short relationships with court ladies that he had been infamous for among the Third Company.

"I need you to go with Kel to bear the body back to where the Riders have set up camp," Raoul explained as he helped Kel to tie the stretcher to Hoshi and Lerant's horse.

Lerant nodded and with a small nod to Kel he urged his black mount into a slow walk and Kel matched his speed.

"He talks about you all the time, you know," Lerant commented as they picked their way uphill through the streets.

Kel nodded almost sadly. "So I've been told by many people."

Lerant watched the woman who rode with him. She walked her horse without thinking and her eyes were fixed on the road ahead of her but he had the feeling she wasn't seeing anything. It was just as well that her horse was well trained and avoided all the obstacles without panicking, even when a dying Yamani raider tried to spear him. Hoshi stepped firmly on him in the true style of a battle-trained warrior's mount. Lerant leant over and placed a firm hand on Kel's shoulder. That shocked her out of her reverie. "He might be very annoying and I know there are times when most of us jokingly wish him dead, but we'll find him. Believe me, no one will rest until they've found him. He's a great guy."

Kel smiled warmly at Lerant. "Thanks. I just hope we find him alive."

Lerant laughed hollowly. "Oh, I'd imagine we would. He's very stubborn. Most of us agree that _he_ is the Meathead, not his cousin."

Kel grinned slightly. "You're right, he can be stubborn sometimes." Her grin faded as the Rider camp came into view and she saw Jak stumble slightly at the arrow-riddled burden that they carried between them. She saw Lora rush forwards and start talking to Jak as she held him tight. She saw Saul inch towards his brother and Naomi turn towards Ana with tears in her eyes. Farant stood steadily in the middle, the picture of a perfect commander, always there to keep the group together. Suddenly she felt like throwing herself off of her horse and having one of the temper tantrums she used to have as a child when nothing went her way. This shouldn't have happened! Essa didn't need to die, she had friends and they were standing in front of her reeling from what she had told – or rather, shown – them.

She and Lerant dismounted and lowered the stretcher to the ground. As Farant walked forwards and placed two gold nobles on her Essa's eyes, Kel felt more alone than ever. Dom had been there for the last year or so to comfort and cheer her up when she needed it. She wanted to be able to turn away and to have his strong arms wrap themselves around her and hold her tight. But he wasn't there. He'd gone missing. For all she knew he could be lying dead or dying somewhere in the burning mess that had been the docks and she didn't have the power to do anything about it.

- - -

That night she didn't sleep. She lay with her head poking out of her tent watching the glowing campfire embers. She remembered the story that Thom had told her about his mother, the Great Mother Goddess and the stone that Alanna now wore around her neck. It had been picked out of a campfire that Alanna had made when she was a squire, it had been a miracle. The stone should have been hot, but it wasn't. That was what Kel needed now, a miracle.

- - -

**A/N: ** Hm…not sure of that chapter. But having re-written it a few times, I thought this was the best of the three attempts I had, so here you are. At least it was longer than the last chapter!

Hannah


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Disclaimer: **I guess it's this time again. I don't own any of Tammy's creations, however I do own: Ked, Jhedy, Tait, Salin, Jamil, Lord Parrton, Feran, the little girl with the gift at Mindelan, Judge Tremont (who gets no more than a brief mention), the black haired man that is a friend of Piers and Ilane, Farant, Saul, Ana, Naomi, Lora, Jacey, Essa, Jak, Ortun (a place, not a person), the street urchin, the merchant, Mysh, Adelaide, Kara, Francis, Mandy, Elissa and Arianne.

Chapter Twenty: The Miracle 

And she got her miracle. Though not in form of divine intervention, unless of course you call a grubby young boy of twelve riding his father's war mount divine intervention.

She was woken by shouting just outside her tent. She had obviously fallen asleep at some point near dawn and someone, she presumed her brother, had gently turned her around so that she slept with her head in the tent.

"What are you doing trying to get into the Lady Knight's tent?" Raoul snapped. His tone made it clear exactly what he thought the intruder had been trying to do.

"My Lord, I need to…"

"No you don't!" Raoul yelled. "What were you doing?"

"My Lord, I had a message for her!" the intruder replied and Kel recognised that voice. It was Lachran, her nephew.

"Lach?" she called, crawling out of the tent on her stomach. Suddenly the events of the previous day came flooding back and Kel wanted to crawl back into her tent and cry where no one could see her. "What are you doing here?" Mindelan was a good twenty-five miles away and he had no reason to know she was even here.

"Papa sent me," he gabbled, looking nervously at the legend that was the Giantkiller.

"You know this boy?" Raoul asked, studying Lachran as if he didn't think that Kel would know anyone like this.

Kel nodded. "Sir, this is my nephew Lachran of Mindelan, he's a page at the palace." She scratched her head. "Is it your summer break already?"

Lachran nodded.

"And Lachran, this is Lord Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, Knight Commander of the King's Own."

Raoul offered his hand to shake; more relaxed now that he knew this was no thief. "I'm sorry about that Lachran, we don't normally have small boys trying to crawl into the Lady Knight's tent." He turned to Kel. "Are you okay?"

Kel shook her head. "Of course not. Did you honestly expect me to say yes?"

"Most people do."

"Yamani training I guess," Kel admitted. "We were always told to be truthful when it came to your state of mind or health because that could endanger others in battle."

"Makes sense. Want some breakfast?" he asked, Lachran forgotten.

"Auntie Kel!" Lachran cried. "I've got an urgent message! From Papa! He said to make sure you got it as soon as possible!"

Kel nodded. "Well tell me then," she said, gesturing for Lachran to sit down next to her by the campfire and then she accepted the porridge that Raoul collected for her from the servers. He'd even got some for Lachran.

"Papa says that a Sergeant Domica…maybe it was Domitan? Well anyway, he said this sergeant was at our house and you'd want to know."

"What?" Kel yelled, startling some of the sleepier members of the Third Company into consciousness.

Lachran seemed surprised at his Aunt's reaction. To him she always seemed like she was completely in control and she never yelled.

Kel sat back, her mind racing. "I…"

"I'll saddle the horses," a voice yelled from the opposite side of the campfire and Kel saw Lerant sprinting towards the horses and rapidly saddling first Kel's horse, then Raoul's and his own.

"And a spare one for Lachran!" Raoul called over. "His is worn out." Raoul stood up and marched to a rock. Leaping onto it with ease, he clapped his hands, gaining the attention of men he commanded. "It seems we have found the elusive sergeant we've been searching for. He's sheltering at Mindelan. Who's coming to get him?"

There was a rush of activity as men dropped what they were doing and ran for their horses.

- - -

They were almost at the edge of Mindelan when Kel spoke for the first time since her outburst at Lachran almost an hour earlier.

"So how did he end up at our home?" her voice was quiet and she had to repeat her question for Lachran was too busy enjoying the sensation of riding at the front of over a hundred men.

"Adelaide had spotted the smoke coming from Blue Harbour," Lachran said, naming his cousin, one of Inness' children. "She told Papa who took out the Mindelan guard with the idea of helping. They were nearly there when they saw a man riding as fast as his horse could up the slopes. The raiders were pursuing him. Papa and the guard killed the raiders and then Papa said that he recognised the man as someone he had seen you with earlier in the year and now that I think about it, he was the man that came with you to Grandfather's funeral!"

Kel nodded her head silently.

Lachran continued, "Papa and the guard turned around and took the man to our house, this was late last night. I was asleep. But Papa came to wake me up just before dawn and told me to find you and tell you this man had come." His eyes flickered with mischief. "This man means a lot to you?"

Kel was perfectly capable of being mischievous herself. "Oh, about as much as Kara means to you," she replied, talking of one of the village girls that she knew Lachran had fallen for.

He blushed and grinned ruefully. "I should have known you wouldn't miss that."

Kel smiled and reached out and tousled his hair. "Of course. I promise I won't tell your Papa though."

Lachran smiled. "Thanks."

"It's no problem, especially because you wouldn't believe who I fell for at your age."

"Who? Who?" Lachran pestered and Kel couldn't help but laugh.

She shook her head. "That I'm not telling you."

- - -

"Anders!" Kel cried as she tumbled off of her horse.

Anders hugged her tight and shoved her in the direction of the house. "Go on, he's waiting to see you. I've put him in the room opposite yours."

Kel nodded and tried to walk sedately towards the house.

"Get a move on woman!" Raoul yelled cheekily at her. "I thought you actually wanted to see him!"

"Talking about me?" a voice inquired from above them. Kel looked up and saw Dom leaning out of a window. She struggled not to squeal and run towards him. Instead she nodded and settled for quickening her pace.

Once inside and away from the eyes of those watching she broke into a run and tore up the spiralling stairs in the west wing of the house.

Dom stood leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe. He had a cut on his cheek and there were still marks of soot in hair. He had donned clean clothes though, clothes that Kel recognised as Anders'. She stopped at the end of corridor and enjoyed the feeling that she was seeing him alive.

"Now do you know how I felt when you ran off?" he asked. His voice was gentle but reprimanding.

Kel hung her head in shame; suddenly aware of how much worry she must have caused him. "I'm sorry," she uttered, feeling the tears prick at the corner of her eyes. She stayed staring at the dusty floorboards. This wing of the house had belonged to the women of the house and her parents. None of them were left now. Both her sisters had got married and her parents were gone.

Cool fingers forced her to look up and when she met his mischievous blue eyes she found strength again.

"If you did this just to pay me back, you are going to be in _big_ trouble, Sergeant!"

Dom wrapped his arms around her neck and kissed her slowly, easing his mouth over hers and gently stroking her neck. Kel forgot all her fears. She pushed him away. "So did you?"

Dom grinned and shook his head. "No, of course not. I wouldn't want to put you through that." He pushed her hair away from her cheeks and found the tear streaks left on her face from yesterday. "Kel!" he exclaimed, sympathy deep in his voice. She didn't cry over many people and to be honest, he hadn't expected her to cry over him.

Kel lowered her gaze, not ashamed to have cried about him, but the way his sapphire eyes studied her intently unnerved her slightly. He kissed first one cheek and then the other.

"There," he said satisfied. "All better now!"

Kel couldn't help but laugh. And then it hit her, Dom was alive. "You're alive," she whispered, resting her head against his shoulder.

He placed his arms around her and started to spin around slowly. "Yes, I'm alive, you're alive." Suddenly he picked her up and swung her around and around.

"Dom!" she shrieked. "Put me down!"

There was a timid knock on the door at the end of the corridor and Kel wriggled out of Dom's hold to turn and see who it was.

"Auntie Kel!" young voices yelled as she grinned to see her younger nieces and nephews charging towards her. Conal stood behind them.

"I'm sorry," he apologised. "I couldn't keep them away."

Kel grinned as they all clambered on top of her and pestered her to be held. She turned to Dom who just grinned and leant back against the wall. "We'll finish all that later," he promised with a cheeky grin. "Do you want some help?"

Kel nodded and gratefully handed him three of the children. They drew back to look at him with curiosity etched on their faces. They whispered among themselves for a while and Kel could see Dom growing redder and redder.

"What are you saying?" she asked them she tickled Adelaide and caught Francis as he fell towards the ground.

"We were only discwussing Uncle Dom!" they protested in childish speech and Kel laughed. She could see what had caused Dom to blush.

"He's not your uncle!" Kel managed to get out through her laughter.

They wore puzzled expressions. "But he's your hubwand!" Mandy exclaimed, joining in.

"No," Kel said gently. "He's not."

"He is!" Francis stated with the righteousness of all of his three years.

Kel shook her head. "He's not. He's my…" she struggled to think of a way to explain it to the children.

"Hubwand!" Mandy cried.

"Kids!" a voice yelled up the stairs. "Your Mama wants you down here. You can talk with Auntie Kel some other time!"

Kel saw Dom sigh with relief as the children scrambled away.

"What a week!" he sighed. "You run off, we barely catch you, then we run into raiders and I get chased out of town and then your nieces and nephews have us married within three minutes of having seen you!"

Kel shrugged. "I'm sorry about that. I don't know how many young kids you know, but these ones refuse to believe anything you tell them."

"Ah, the cynical young!" Dom said almost dreamily and Kel giggled. He had sounded do like Neal there, sometimes it was easy to see that they were related.

"Do you want to go and find Raoul and the rest of your friends?" Kel asked reluctantly. She didn't really want to let Dom go just yet, but his friends would want to see him as well.

Dom shook his head. "Not yet. I want to have you to myself for while longer. How about we go for a walk?"

- - -

Someone stumbling and cursing quietly woke her up. Neal has obviously fallen victim to one of his cousin's childish pranks again, she thought groggily. Then she sat up and realised she wasn't at the palace, she was at home. It wasn't Neal, it was Dom. She pulled on a robe over her flimsy night-dress and walked to the window. She watched as Dom dropped lightly to the ground below. He headed towards the stables and as he turned slightly, Kel could see the tears streaming down his face. 

She pulled on a pair of boots and climbed down the wall, being careful not to wake the twins, Mandy and Elissa, whose nursery was directly below her room. As her feet touched the ground, she could see a campfire burning a field away where the Own and Riders were camped. A hunched figure sat at the campfire on his own, Kel presumed it was Jak and she paused for a moment, glad that she wasn't doing what he was doing tonight. Then she followed Dom to the stables.

As she clambered up the ladders to the hayloft she saw the lamp burning above her and knew that he was there.

"You know, you're usually the one doing this," she remarked as she hauled herself through the hole and wrapped her arms around Dom. He lay his head against her chest and tried to stop crying. Kel kissed the top of his head. "Cry all you want," she whispered.

He laughed weakly and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. "I'd prefer not to."

Kel shrugged. "Whatever you want." She turned so she could see his face. "What's the matter?"

Dom shook his head. "Doesn't matter."

Kel raised her eyebrows. "Doesn't matter?" She laughed and cuffed his lightly on the ear. "You're crying and you expect me to believe that is doesn't matter?"

Dom nodded and shifted slightly so that his head was lying Kel's lap and he was staring at the ceiling.

"Okay, have it your own way. But I'm not letting you leave until you tell me what's the matter," Kel replied as she ran a hand through his slightly curly brown hair. She saw Dom's determined look and knew that it would take more than threats to make him tell her. "And I don't care how long this will take."

Dom grinned weakly and sat up. "We're going to be here for a long time then."

Kel shrugged. "Well, I'd best get comfortable then, hadn't I?" She flopped down into the hay and stretched out, praying that she wouldn't fall asleep. When a long arm wrapped itself around her waist she smiled contentedly.

Dom lay watching Kel and he was suddenly aware of how pale and drawn she was. She obviously hadn't slept the night previously and he just wanted to wrap both arms around her and hold her close. As he heard her breathing slow and was certain she was asleep he allowed himself to close his eyes and fall deep into slumber himself.

- - -

Conal groaned as his youngest children bounced onto his bed.

"Papa! Papa!" Mandy cried. "Auntie Kel's missing!"

Conal suddenly found himself alert and he sat right up. "How do you know?"

"She's not in her room!" Elissa explained as she grinned at Conal, showing that she had lost yet another of her baby teeth.

Conal sighed with relief and relaxed back into bed. She wasn't _missing _missing, she just wasn't in her room. "And neither are you!" he retorted. "Why don't you go and find Arianne and you could go and play outside together? It's such a nice day." He pulled the covers back over his head and sighed thankfully as he heard his children clambering off of the bed with cries of "But Papa, it's raining!"

- - -

To Mandy and Elissa, Arianne seemed practically grown-up in all of her seven years and they were perfectly happy to let her take charge. When Arianne insisted that they found somewhere warm and dry to play, they suggested one of the hollow trees in the forest and were perfectly happy when Arianne turned that suggestion down in favour of somewhere that they could all fit into.

- - -

Kel's eyes flickered open and met a pair of blue ones that were studying her intently. As she moved slightly, she felt the hay underneath her and she groaned.

"How did I get here?" she asked groggily. Then she remembered. "Oh yeah, are you going to tell me anything yet?" She wasn't surprised when Dom shook his head and then silenced her protests with a kiss.

However, Dom was surprised when she suddenly pulled away. "What?" he moaned.

Kel placed a finger on his lips to silence him and peered through the hole in the roof.

"Auntie Kel!" voices yelled and Dom heard the pitter-patter of feet as they ran for the ladder.

He groaned. "Are those children everywhere?"

Kel grinned. "No, just bear with them. Please? For me?"

Dom sighed, he knew he couldn't refuse that, especially when Kel looked towards him like that. "Alright."

"Thanks." She kissed him quickly on the cheek then leant forwards to pull the children up through the hole.

"I can manage!" he heard a slightly older voice protest.

"Okay, come on up then." He saw Kel relax back and a child of about seven poked her head through the hole.

The child scrambled, trying desperately to claw her way though the hole on her own. Suddenly Dom dived forwards and grabbed the child's arms, unsure why he did it. Then he heard what his mind had been unconsciously telling him. The ladder creaked, swayed and collapsed on the floor, leaving the child dangling from his hands.

Kel watched in horror as the ladder collapsed under Conal's eldest child and the only thing between her and a nasty fall was Dom's tight grip on her arms. As Dom hauled her up through the hole so that she lay flat on her stomach, Kel released the breath she didn't realise she was holding.

Dom glanced at her with a cheeky grin. "See, everything's under control."

Kel placed both her arms around Arianne and held her whilst the child whimpered. "Shush, it's okay. Dom saved you."

Arianne took her face out of Kel's night-robe and turned to look curiously at Dom. "He's your husband?"

Kel laughed but knew that Arianne would understand much easier than her younger siblings did. "No, a close friend."

Arianne blinked as she took this in and then grinned happily as she threw herself at Dom. "So he'll marry me when I get old enough?"

"Um…I – I…" Dom stuttered, but to his credit he didn't blush this time.

"But I thought you wanted to marry Lachran!" Kel protested on behalf of Dom. "Or at least, you did last time I saw you. Don't you remember showing me where you were going to get married and your drawings of your wedding dress?"

Arianne looked stumped. "Oh yeah," she said finally. "Oh well, if Lachran gets married to someone else, I'll marry Dom."

Kel grinned widely. "I'm sure Dom would be happy to let you marry him. Won't you Dom?" she nudged him.

"Um…oh, yes, yes."

"Good," Arianne said in a satisfied tone. Then she tilted her head and looked sad. "But Auntie Kel, who'll you marry?"

Kel smiled and rescued Mandy from the edge of the hole where she was threatening to fall off. "I'm a knight Ary," she explained, using her nickname for the child. "That means I have to fight, I've got work to do."

"You have a sword?" Arianne exclaimed, her eyes lighting up, suddenly forgetting Dom.

Kel nodded. "But it's in my room."

"I want to see it!" Arianne cried. "I'm going to be a knight!"

Dom smothered a grin at the thought of this child training to be a knight, she seemed far more suited to be a convent lady and he expected that would be where she ended up.

"Me too!" Elissa echoed.

"And me, don't forget me!" Mandy looked cross at having been the last one to say she wanted to see the sword. She crossed her arms across her chest and scowled.

"I wouldn't forget you!" Kel protested. She turned towards Dom. "Would you mind if we did go to my rooms? Because they won't rest until they've seen the sword."

Dom shrugged. "No problem. But how are we going to get the children out? We have no ladder!"

Kel vaulted through the hole, ignoring the cries of the children who didn't want her to leave. She turned to look up and Dom. "Pass them down."

He turned to Mandy and gripped her under the arms. Lowering her carefully through the hole, he allowed her to drop a few feet into Kel's arms. He did the same for Elissa and then turned to Arianne.

"Down you go," he said as he gripped her under the arms and swung her over the hole.

"I want to do it on my own!" she protested, kicking thin air.

Dom peered down at Kel who shook her head. "Sorry Ary," he told the child. "You're doing it the same way as everyone else." He lowered the kicking and screaming child through the hole and into Kel's arms. He heard a cry of pain and quickly threw himself through the hole to reach Kel. "What's the matter?" he asked, taking Ary from her.

Kel shook her head. "It was nothing, Ary kicked me, that was all."

Dom drew her hand away from her cheek and saw a flaming red mark on her cheek and jaw. It took all his restraint not to turn on Ary and strangle her. "Do you want me to kiss it better?" he asked in a low voice that made Kel shiver.

Kel laughed. "Not while the kids are here, maybe later." She turned to the three waiting children. "Do you want to see this sword or not?" she asked.

As they jumped up and down in excitement, Kel picked up Mandy and handed Elissa to Dom. Then she turned to Arianne. "You'll have to run to keep up with us. We don't want to get wet, do we?"

Arianne shook her head and followed her Auntie and the man she was determined to marry as fast as her little legs would carry her. She laughed and danced as the rain soaked through her night-dress.

- - -

"I wish mother and father could be here to watch this," Anders remarked as he stood in the doorway with Conal, watching Kel and Dom with Conal's children.

Conal nodded and turned back to the scene in front of him, they seemed like a big happy family. Dom sat on the bed, reading to Mandy and Elissa who sat one on each knee. They had towels wrapped around them and their dark brown hair was dripping onto Dom's tunic, but it appeared he didn't care. Kel was standing in a clear space with Arianne. The seven-year old wore clothes that were too big for her, some of Kel's old stuff and she held a heavy sword in her hand. Her hair was dripping down her back, but someone had tightly braided it. She swung the sword, and Kel ducked out of the way laughing.

"I tell you what, why don't we start with something more simple, like staff work?" Kel suggested as she took the sword off of the child.

Arianne shrugged and eagerly reached for a live glaive, just to find Kel take it off of her.

"No, that's not something _you_ want to be practising with. How about we start with a blunted one?"

"Why not that one?" Arianne protested. "It's shiny!"

Kel took it off of the rack and gave it a swing. She swung it past a lone paper streamer that was left in her room from her tenth birthday. It sliced smoothly in half. "It's sharp," she said unnecessarily.

Arianne stared at the weapon in awe. "I want to learn to use that!"

Kel grinned. "Alright, I'll teach you, but not with this one. How about using this one?" She selected a blunt glaive off of the rack and handed it to Arianne. "In fact, you can have it, it was your Grandma's and she gave it to me for my ninth birthday."

Arianne turned the glaive over in her hand, looking upon it in awe. Kel could tell that Arianne really wanted to accept it, but her good manners were stopping her. "But don't you want it? Something to remember Grandma by?"

Kel grinned at her, remembering her mother. "I've got her spare glaive, her sharp one. And besides, I'm pretty certain she'd want you to have it."

"I'm sure she would too," Anders replied, walking in.

Kel looked up in surprise at her eldest brother. "Anders! I didn't hear you come in!"

Anders laughed. "I've been standing in the doorway for more than ten minutes."

"Why didn't you come in?" Kel asked in puzzlement as she ducked an experimental swing of her new glaive by Arianne.

Anders sighed. "I was enjoying watching you and the kids. You remind me so much of how mother was with you."

Kel saw the tears in his eyes and she hugged him tight. Children immediately besieged them.

"What's the matter Papa?" Mandy asked she tugged at her father's trousers.

Dom walked over and swept both Mandy and Elissa up. "I think your Papa's a bit sad, that's all," he explained. "Do you want to get back to the book and find out what happens the Lady Alanna and the Shang Dragon?" The children nodded enthusiastically, even Arianne who must have heard the story many times.

Anders laughed through his tears. "I can remember reading that to you when you were younger!" he said to Kel.

Kel nodded. "I can remember having it read to me. It always had to be you who read it to me because you could do the voices and you were a real knight." She sighed as they watched Dom reading to the children.

"He's a good man," Anders said quietly.

Kel turned to Anders with surprise showing on her face. That was the last thing she had expected Anders to say. She knew that Dom and Anders got on, but Anders wasn't free with his praise. "I know," she said simply.

Anders sighed. "It's been nice having you two stay. You ought to come again, just the two of you."

Kel shrugged. "Maybe, but I doubt we'll have the time, what with the war…"

"War?" Anders echoed and it then that Kel remembered he didn't know about the escapade that had brought them to Mindelan.

"Unless I hand myself over to officials in the Yamani Isles to face justice, Tortall is at war with the Isles. I tried to hand myself over, but the King sent a Rider group after me as well as Dom and Conal. They caught me before I managed to reach international waters. That was how we came to be at the docks when the Yamani raiders attacked."

Anders stood completely still as he thought about the information his younger sister had just given him. "We'll have to make provisions to have the children sent somewhere safer."

Kel nodded. "Yes, I would imagine that they'll want to destroy this place. I'd get everyone out if I were you."

Anders nodded. "We'll see if we can seek refuge with Baron Coram on his lands at Trebond, I'm sure they'll be more than happy to take the villagers and children."

"And you!" Kel said firmly. She held up her hand to stop his protests. "No Anders, I don't care if I have to ask Dom or Raoul to bring the whole of the Third Company here to force you, you are going!" She quietened slightly. "I don't want you dying too."

"Why did Liam have to die?" Kel heard a whiny voice ask.

"To save the King," she heard Dom explain patiently. "Because if Liam didn't die to save the King, the whole land would have been ripped apart from the magic King Jonathan was using and we would have Duke Roger as our King."

Kel watched in amusement as Mandy shivered. "He's evil!" the little girl said.

"Yes," Anders replied. "He is. Now," he held out a hand to the two youngest children. "Why don't we leave Kel and Dom in peace for a while? I'll take you down to the stables and we'll go riding together. Would you like that?"

As her brother left with Conal's three children in tow, Kel shot him a grateful look to which Anders mouthed 'Be good!' and Kel couldn't help but laugh.

- - -

**A/N:** So, what you people think? I rescued him, got to write about a character that has always interested me (Lachran, don't ask why, even I don't know) and got to embarrass Dom. An all-round…interesting (not in the good sense) chapter. No, seriously, tell me what you thought. I wasn't so sure.


	22. Chapter Twenty One

**Disclaimer: **I guess it's this time again. I don't own any of Tammy's creations, however I do own: Ked, Jhedy, Tait, Salin, Jamil, Lord Parrton, Feran, the little girl with the gift at Mindelan, Judge Tremont (who gets no more than a brief mention), the black haired man that is a friend of Piers and Ilane, Farant, Saul, Ana, Naomi, Lora, Jacey, Essa, Jak, Ortun (a place, not a person), the street urchin, the merchant, Mysh, Adelaide, Kara, Francis, Mandy, Elissa, Arianne and Akred (Essa's brother).

****

**Chapter Twenty-one: Jobs**

"I'll miss you, make sure you come and visit as soon as possible," Anders said, hugging Kel tightly.

Kel nodded. "I'll visit as soon as the King gives me leave, I promise." She pushed back from Anders so that she could see his face. "But you must promise me that you'll make sure that the whole of Mindelan is sent to Trebond, including yourself."

Anders sighed, but consented. "I promise."

"Good," Kel replied and she waved to the children who were leaning out of the window to wave goodbye to her. "Bye!" she yelled to them. "Be good! And Ary, make sure you practise those glaive patterns I showed you."

"I will!" the seven-year old yelled out of the window.

Kel hugged Anders and Conal one last time and bowed to their wives who curtsied, but Kel could tell they didn't like her. It didn't really bother her though.

She swung herself into Hoshi's saddle and beckoned to Lachran who guided his mount, Surefire over to Hoshi. Lachran was coming back with them to the palace as his holiday was almost up and if he rode with Kel, it would save Anders having to make the long trip. Together they waited as the Third Company rode past them at a slow walk and then joined the back. Today Kel would have to ride with Lachran, as Dom had to take his place at the head of his squad. The Riders joined the line a little further up the hill and took their places behind Kel and Lachran.

Kel turned in her saddle and waved to her family as they stood in front of the Mindelan house and leant out of windows. She could see Mandy crying and Arianne comforting her. She grinned. Mandy would be fine in a few minutes but maybe Anders ought to consider sending her to join the Players, she would do well there. But Kel didn't think Anders' conservative wife would think it a good idea.

- - -

She lay in the tent she shared with Ana and listened to the silence that had descended over the camp. They were probably a quarter of the way to the capital with only another few days journeying until they got there.

"Lady Kel?" a voice hissed from outside her tent and Kel wriggled out of her sleeping bag and stuck her head out of her tent, being careful not to wake Ana.

"Yes?" she asked and was suddenly blinded by the light of the flaming torch that her guest carried. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she could see it was Wolset, the man that Dom shared a tent with. "Can I help you with anything?"

"I hope I didn't wake you," he started. "But I'm worried about Dom."

Kel looked up, immediately alert. "What is it?"

"He just walked off on his own, he seemed kind of depressed. But it's just that there are bandits in this area and if he stumbles upon their camp, he'll have no back up. I figured he'd rather you went with him than me."

Kel sighed. Dom was upset again, and he wouldn't tell her what was the matter. "Sure, I'll just get dressed and go find him."

Wolset nodded and made his way back to his tent. Kel rifled through her saddlebags, looking for breeches and a shirt.

"Don't let him kill himself about Essa's death," Ana said out of the darkness. "I doubt it was his fault. And she knew when she came into the Riders the risk that it carried."

Kel froze, she hadn't thought Ana was awake. "Is that what's bothering him?"

In the darkness Ana shrugged. "I've no idea, but it's a logical guess. He avoids Jak and all us Riders, but especially Jak."

Kel pulled her shirt over her head and slipped on a pair of stout boots. "Thanks," she replied as she sheathed her sword to her waist and grabbed her glaive.

She found Dom sitting on a rock, playing idly with his belt knife.

"If I were a bandit, you'd be dead by now," Kel said quietly.

Dom jumped. "Kel! You gave me fright."

"Good," Kel replied harshly. "I thought you knew better than to go off on your own this close to the mountains."

"I just wanted to be alone," Dom explained as he patted a space on the rock beside him. "Do you want to sit? Or are you going to stand?"

Kel sat. "Now, what's bothering you?"

Dom shook his head. "Doesn't matter."

"Oh yes it does," Kel snapped. "If it makes you go off like this, risking your life, it does matter!"

Dom sighed. "No, I don't want to talk about it."

Kel just folded her arms and stared at him and he broke down. She cradled him and rocked back and forth slightly. "Hey," she said soothingly. "It wasn't your fault she died." She hoped that Ana's guess had been right.

When Dom just continued to cry, she realised that it was.

"What happened?"

It was a while before Dom answered. "We got separated from the rest of you when the first attack came. I knew that there would be no way that we'd be able to hold our own in a fight, so we ran. We got to a part of the docks where it wasn't burnt and found a warehouse to shelter in. Someone must have followed us though, because suddenly the building went up in flames. As Essa tried to get out of the door, she…" he trailed off.

Kel wanted to tell him that it didn't matter, that he didn't need to tell her, that he didn't need to put himself through the pain of it all again. But she knew that he'd never get over it if he didn't talk with someone and she was the best person for him to talk to.

He took a deep breath. "I just saw her fall and then all the arrows in her chest. I crawled over there and dragged her further into the warehouse, believing for some stupid reason that she was still alive. And I expect she probably was. I shoved her onto my horse and I found a back exit to the warehouse. We were going through the streets as fast as possible, I was heading for the hills when a raider pulled her off of my horse. I didn't stop, I could have, but I didn't. I just continued to ride. It is my fault she's dead. I could have saved her!"

Kel sighed. "Dom, she was probably dead anyway. Stopping only would have got you killed. Anyway, even if she wasn't dead then, she would have been soon enough. You know as well as I do that anyone who took as many arrows as Essa did wouldn't survive, a healer wouldn't be able to heal her when she'd lost that much blood."

Dom wiped his tears away. "That's beside the point, I still should have stopped."

"Well I'm glad you didn't," Kel replied honestly. "I wouldn't want to loose another person. It sounds selfish, but it's true."

Dom looked at her and smiled weakly. "No, you don't deserve that."

Kel shrugged. "It's not whether or not I deserve it, I'm telling you, I don't want that to happen. Now come on, shall we get back to camp?"

"Alright."

If in the morning any of the men noticed that Dom had red eyes, they had the tact not to say anything. But Kel thought Jak noticed because at breakfast she saw him take Dom aside and talk to him. Both of them look close to crying but when they had finished, Dom looked a lot happier.

As Kel readied her horse for the day's riding, she placed a hand on Jak's shoulder. "Thanks," she said quietly.

Jak turned and smiled at her. "It was no problem. I wasn't going to let him drive himself mad over her death, I doubt it was his fault and I didn't think she would want him to do that."

Kel hugged the man tightly. "If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know."

"Well, actually, there is one thing," Jak said nervously.

"What?" Kel asked, eager to help the man who had managed to ease some of Dom's guilt.

"She has a younger brother at the palace, their parents died years ago, he's her only remaining family…"

- - -

Kel strode over to the practise courts where the pages were practising archery under the watchful eye of Lord Wyldon.

"My Lord," she called from the other side of the practise courts. "May I have a word?"

Wyldon nodded. "Certainly."

Kel ducked low and ran under the hail of arrows that were missing the targets. She breathed deeply. "I need to speak with one of your pages, Akred Ibn Cazzir."

"Why?" Lord Wyldon asked almost suspiciously.

"I recently rode with his older sister and we ran into a bit of trouble…" she tailed off, allowing Wyldon to fill in the gaps himself.

He nodded gravely. "Cazzir! Lady Kel needs to speak with you."

Kel watched as a young boy, probably a forth year page set down his bow and walked towards Kel. As he passed Lachran, Kel's nephew clapped him on the shoulder. Kel could see Lachran smile sympathetically and the tears that he fought to stop from falling. She knew he was remembering his grandparents and Kel dreaded giving the young boy the news about his sister.

"You're excused from the rest of your lessons today, Cazzir," Wyldon said solemnly and Kel could see that that scared the young boy and she knew why. Wyldon didn't give you the rest of the day off for no reason.

Kel bowed to Lord Wyldon and then the boy in front of her. "I'm Kel," she said gently to Cazzir.

"I'm Akred. What did you want?"

Kel swallowed. "Shall we talk about this somewhere else?" she asked, eyeing the watching pages.

Wyldon seemed to catch her gaze and he tossed her some keys. "Use my study," he replied and turned back to the pages, shouting for them to get working.

As Kel slotted the keys into the lock, she was reminded of the last time she was here, the time Lord Wyldon forbade her to continue her training. She walked in and closed the door firmly behind the two of them. "Sit down," she said after a moment of silence.

Cazzir sat and Kel saw he was shaking.

"Your sister was Essa, right?"

Cazzir nodded dumbly and Kel could see the worry that lit in his eyes.

"Well, I…" she shook her head and tried again. "I was riding with her a few weeks ago and we got into a battle with raiders. She…" she trailed off again. "Oh, I don't know how to put this."

"Will she live?" Cazzir asked. "Her injuries can't be that serious, can they?"

The look Kel gave him told him everything. "I'm sorry Cazzir, she was dead when we found her."

Kel watched in despair as Cazzir broke down and cried. She didn't know what to say, so she talked continuously about how good his sister was, how she died, when she was going to be buried…

"Shut up!" Cazzir yelled. "You don't know what it's like! You're just some slut who thinks she can fight!"

Kel ignored his insults, giving allowance for his grief but she bit her lip. "Maybe you haven't heard my story," she said quietly. "My father's dead, my mother's missing, the equivalent of my knightmaster is missing, he was probably hung and three of my friends are dead, one by my own blade. I know what it's like."

Cazzir fell silent and he looked towards Kel with horror. "I'm sorry," he uttered and Kel shrugged.

"I'm getting over it. So will you."

"Mindelan," a voice said from the doorway and Kel saw Wyldon. She bowed to him. "I'll take over here, will you go and make sure those pages actually do some work?"

Kel nodded and walked slowly to the practise yards. As she arrived there, she saw most people working, but Lachran downed his bow and ran over.

"How is he?" he asked.

Kel shrugged. "I don't know. I left him with my Lord, but I doubt he's feeling any better than you or I did when we found out about Mama."

Lachran sighed. "I feel really sorry for him."

Kel nodded. "I know. Just…In the next few months just look out for him. Stop the other boys questioning him."

"Of course."

Kel turned to the boys who had been trying to eavesdrop on her conversation with Lachran. "Get working!" she yelled.

"Like we'd listen to anything you say!"

Kel had to hold back Lachran as he tried to charge towards the boy. "I'm in charge here until Lord Wyldon returns," she replied firmly. "So unless you want to be shooting a Yamani long bow, you will all get _working_!"

The boy's eyes widened at the threat of having to shoot one of the bows that when Kel had first picked it up she had struggled to even pull it and they returned to their shooting practise, discussing Cazzir among themselves.

Kel sent Lachran back to his work and strode up and down the line. One of the boys missed the target every time and she recognised him as Warric, a boy who she had helped with staff work a while back.

"Warric," Kel said quietly from behind him. "You're missing all the time."

Warric nodded shamefacedly. "I know, my Lady, I had noticed."

"And do you know why?"

Warric shook his head. "No, my Lady."

Kel took his bow off of him and unstrung it. "Now put it back together," she ordered, handing him the bow and string.

Warric easily strung the bow and handed it back to Kel. She pulled the bow the opposite way to what it was meant to go and could get the string to follow the curve of the bow easily. "If you can do this it's far to loose," she explained. "You've got a longbow string on a crossbow. That makes it impossible to get the right amount of thrust behind the arrow." She dug into her pocket and pulled out one of her spare crossbow strings. Stringing the bow up, she handed it back to Warric. "Give that a go."

He did as she ordered and hit the target, not the centre, but it was a vast improvement on his earlier attempts.

"Well done," Kel applauded him. "Just next time, make sure that you use the right string."

Warric nodded eagerly and continued to shoot.

"How's you staff work coming on?" Kel asked as she saw Lord Wyldon walking towards the practise courts.

Warric became despondent. "My Lord Wyldon says I may as well plant my staff in the ground and hope it grows because that will do me just as much good."

Kel winced, it didn't seem like Wyldon had changed at all. "Meet me here after your evening meal and I'll help you."

"Really, my Lady?" Warric asked eagerly.

Kel nodded. "Sure." She moved on to instruct another page, despite the fact that Wyldon had returned. She figured he wouldn't turn away the extra help and she had little better to do.

- - -

"Get to the stables!" Wyldon yelled to his pages and Kel turned to walk back to her rooms in the palace. She had promised she would meet Dom for lunch and she wanted to change first. "Mindelan!" Wyldon yelled after her.

Kel stopped and turned to face him, wondering what he could want with her. "Yes, my Lord?"

"You taught well there." The look on Wyldon's face made it look like it hurt him to say it.

"Thank-you, my Lord," Kel replied, inclining her head slightly. "Was there anything else?"

"Two things," Wyldon replied. "Shall we go to my study?"

Kel hesitated. "I'm meant to be meeting a friend for lunch, my Lord."

"It won't take long, I promise."

Kel nodded. "Okay then, my Lord."

As they sat down on opposite sides of his table, Kel ran a hand through her hair, trying to shake some of the dust out of it.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on your actions a few weeks ago, it was a very noble thing to do," Wyldon started and he left Kel shocked. That was the last thing she had expected.

"Even if it resulted in the death of a Rider and I didn't even complete my task?" Kel blurted out.

Wyldon studied her carefully. "I thought you especially would have realised that death is something that comes with the job. You tried to sacrifice yourself for your country and that was a noble thing to do whether or not you succeeded."

Kel said nothing.

"Lady Knight, I was wondering if you would mind doing me a favour?" Wyldon said slowly.

Kel looked up, shocked at his use of her title and even more so at him asking for help. "What is it, my Lord?"

"I was hoping that you would be able to become the assistant trainer. With the war with the Yamani Isles coming up and tensions on the Scanran border worsening, I am under more and more pressure to train the pages properly. You teach well and have plenty of battle experience."

"I…" This hadn't been what Kel had been expecting. "I would be honoured, my Lord," she found herself saying whilst wondering what she had let herself in for.

"I had hoped you would say that," Wyldon admitted as he rose and shook her hand. "You'll find armbands to signify your position in your room."

"You knew I was going to agree?" Kel asked, not bothering to hide her amusement.

Wyldon shook his head. "No, Lady Kel, I just hoped."

- - -

"What's this?" Dom asked, fiddling with the armband Kel wore around her upper arm. It was a dark blue with three white spots on it and each spot had a smaller red spot inside it.

Kel grinned at him. "I got myself a new job." At Dom's crestfallen look, she hurriedly added, "It doesn't even involve leaving the palace grounds, well, apart from once a year in the summer."

"What is it?"

"I'm helping to train the pages during the morning."

"That's excellent!" Dom exclaimed, picking her up and spinning her around, ignoring the glances of amusement at the odd sight they made. They were of nearly equal height but where Dom looked purely Tortallan in his King's Own uniform, Kel looked foreign with her now only slightly tanned skin and the curved throwing knife that hung from her belt. "When do you start?"

"Next week," Kel replied with a grin.

"Come on then, let's go out for a celebratory dinner!" Dom exclaimed.

"We're already going out for lunch!" Kel protested.

Dom shrugged. "Then we'll go somewhere really special." He took her hand and led her through the streets until they came to a stop in front of an eating house that Kel had never dared to venture into for fear of the prices. "Like it?" he asked as he opened the door and pulled her in with him.

"It's expensive!" Kel hissed.

"I know," Dom replied casually. "I've got the money though, the King gave everyone who helped to prevent you from getting yourself killed a purse. I'll use part of mine for this."

"Dom!" Kel complained. "You can't waste your money on this!"

"It won't be a waste. Now come and sit down." Dom tugged on her hand and she followed the waiter to the seats. As Kel sat, the waiter handed her a menu.

"Whatever happened to simple food?" Kel asked as she flicked through the menu.

Dom shrugged. "I expect this tastes a lot nicer."

"You would hope it would for this price." Kel looked around her in amazement. The room was wonderful. It was painted in dark red and there were golden lamps lighting the room. Hanging from the wall was paintings of different landscapes, some Tortallan, some Carthaki, some from the Copper Isles and some…

Kel gasped as she recognised one of the paintings. She just sat staring at it. "Look," she whispered, pointing at the painting.

"Yes, it's very pretty," Dom replied as he glanced at the painting.

"No! It's the Emperor's palace. And look at who's standing on the roof!" Kel pointed the painting again. "On the flat part!"

Dom stood and walked closer to the painting. It was a massive painting and did what it was meant to do, glorify the Emperor's palace. He ran his fingers over the canvas until he reached the roof. On it stood two figures, one only a child and the other a young woman. "It's you and your mother, isn't it?" he asked, turning to face Kel.

She nodded, astounded at the painting. But she remembered the occasion perfectly. It had been the day before she left for Tortall to start her first year as a page and she and her mother had gone to look at the view for one last time. They had been standing on the roof of their apartment in the palace when they saw the Tortallan ships coming to take them home. Kel remembered thinking that she should have cried, but she was almost completely Yamani at that time and they didn't cry at trivial things. "Yes, it is."

Dom stroked her hand gently and Kel grinned at him. "I think the waiter wants your order Dom," she told him as she watched the man stand by Dom's side, patiently waiting for him to notice.

- - -

"Well done!" a voice yelled as she walked into the page's mess hall with Wyldon.

Kel turned and grinned at Lachran and grinned further at the disapproving look that Wyldon gave her nephew. Wyldon had announced her post earlier that morning during his last solo training session with the pages. Kel started the next morning.

Wyldon was about to start the usual prayer when the doors opened and the King walked in.

"Your Majesty," Kel and Wyldon said in unison as bowed to him.

Jon nodded to them and clapped to get the attention of the pages in front of him. "I won't keep you from your meal for long. Just long enough to make an announcement."

Kel breathed deeply. She had an uneasy feeling she knew what this was about.

"As of this morning, we are at war with the Yamani Isles," Jon announced, his strong voice carrying easily over the assembled pages. "This won't make any difference to your normal routine, other than to your staff lessons, where you shall be learning Yamani staff fighting. I'm sure I have no need to remind you of this, but you must remain vigilant at all times. If you see anyone remotely suspicious, let either of your trainers know and they can tell me." Jon moved quickly from the podium and out of the mess hall.

As the noise erupted around her, Kel sat slowly. That was it, they were at war.

- - -

**A/N:** Okay, now I hadn't seen that coming. Well, I knew there was going to be a war, but Kel train pages? Hmm…is that a good thing? What do you guys think?

A HUGE THANK-YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVEIWED! I got past 300! WOW! - Runs around and screams - I can't believe it! Thank-you!

Hannah


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

**Disclaimer: **I guess it's this time again. I don't own any of Tammy's creations, however I do own: Ked, Jhedy, Tait, Salin, Jamil, Lord Parrton, Feran, the little girl with the gift at Mindelan, Judge Tremont (who gets no more than a brief mention), the black haired man that is a friend of Piers and Ilane, Farant, Saul, Ana, Naomi, Lora, Jacey, Essa, Jak, Ortun (a place, not a person), the street urchin, the merchant, Mysh, Adelaide, Kara, Francis, Mandy, Elissa, Arianne, Akred (Essa's brother, better known as Cazzir) and Alan of Trebond.

****

**Chapter Twenty-two: Essa**

Kel had no idea how she made it from the mess hall to her room, she hadn't even realised where she was headed until she ended up outside her door. She went to unlock it to find it was already unlocked.

She pushed open the door hesitantly, not sure whether she had forgotten to lock it or someone had picked the lock. Inside someone was muttering and walking back and forth, she breathed a sigh of relief when she realised that her would-be assassin was only Dom.

"Dom?" she asked as she dropped her keys onto her desk.

He continued to stride up and down her room. Finally he turned to her. "I can't do this!" he exclaimed. His skin was grey with tiredness and worry, his clothes crumpled.

"Do what?" Kel asked as she sat on her bed and removed her boots in favour of Yamani style slippers.

"Her funeral!" Dom cried. "It's this afternoon!"

It hardly took Kel anytime at all to realise who 'she' was. He was talking about Essa. Kel had forgotten that Essa was going to be buried that afternoon. "Yes you can," she replied. "I thought you had said you wanted to go."

Dom nodded. "I do! But I'm not going to be able handle it!"

Kel sighed. It was a good thing that his men couldn't see him now. "Get changed into your uniform. I'll go with you."

Dom looked at Kel in surprise. "I thought you had said you didn't want to go because it would bring back memories."

"It will," Kel said shortly. "But you won't go otherwise and I know you want to. Get changed and meet me by the cemetery gates."

Dom hugged her tight and ran off to change.

Kel rummaged through her closet, looking for the black shirt and breeches she had worn to her father's funeral. She donned them quickly and pulled on black riding boots. She ran a brush through her hair and was glad that she'd had it cropped, it made it so much easier to deal with. She strapped her sword onto her belt and hung her curved throwing knife on the opposite side. Then she tore through the palace and out the back entrance towards the Rider cemetery. Dom was pacing back and forth and he was a sight to gasp at in his uniform. His dark blue tunic was smooth and unwrinkled and over that he wore thin chain mail. His blue trousers were baggy and clean, for once. His white cloak was obviously fresh and it was tied with a broach that Kel had given him in the shape of a sword. His weapons hung at his side and his slightly curly hair was behaving itself for once. He sighed with relief when he saw her and Kel marched forwards and they walked hand-in-hand to the crowd that had gathered within the cemetery.

"Lady Kel, I hadn't thought that you were coming," Lord Wyldon said as he greeted them. By his side stood Cazzir, he looked tired and drawn and his eyes were red.

Kel shook her head. "I hadn't been planning to, but Dom asked me to accompany him, so I changed my mind."

Wyldon glanced towards Dom with a slight smile on his face. "I see." Wyldon was about to walk away when he remembered something. "The King wishes to see you tomorrow before you train the pages, Lady Kel."

Kel nodded. "Thanks."

She spotted Jak standing with the rest of the Rider group and gently tugged Dom along to meet them. "I'm sorry," she said.

Jak shrugged. "So am I."

Dom said nothing, but Kel knew that if he spoke he would end up in tears and she guided him gently away.

"How are you holding up?" she asked him where no one could hear.

Dom shrugged. "I don't know. But now I wish I hadn't come. Seeing her brother only made things worse. It suddenly came to me that he has no one to turn to. Jak said they had no parents or other family, only each other and I allowed even that to be taken away. What's he going to do?"

"It wasn't your fault!" Kel replied harshly and then regretted the tone of her voice and softened it. "No, seriously, it wasn't your fault."

"Yes, but what is her brother going to do?" Dom asked again.

Kel shrugged. "I've no idea! If you're that bothered, I'll ask Wyldon what he's doing. Do you want me to?"

Dom nodded silently.

"Stay here then," Kel said as she walked through the crowds to the tall training master. "Can I have a word with you, my Lord?" She glanced at Cazzir who was still standing faithfully by his training master's side. "In private," she added.

Wyldon nodded and the two of them walked slightly apart from the rest.

"Yes?" he asked, keeping one eye on the crowd and Cazzir.

"This is going to sound really odd, my Lord," Kel said with a slight laugh. "But I promised I'd ask. What's going to happen to Cazzir?"

Wyldon sighed and scratched the long scars down his arm. "I've no idea. He'll probably stay at the palace all the time. Though your nephew says that Cazzir wants to return to the desert, which is something we all want to prevent."

"Why?" Kel asked quickly.

"I presume you know that his parents are dead?"

"Yes, my Lord. I know that they're dead, not how or why, but I know they're dead."

"Cazzir and his family were part of the Soaring Eagle Tribe, they were the only renegade tribe left and when Cazzir's sister expressed her wish to join the Riders, they tried to kill the whole family because they considered them contaminated. They killed the mother, father and a younger sister but Cazzir and his sister survived and made it to Corus. Now Cazzir is saying that he wants to return to the desert but if he returns, he'll be killed. In his current state of mind he doesn't care."

Kel suddenly filled with sorrow for the child whose life had been harder than her own. "Mithros!" she breathed.

"Does that answer Dom's question?" Wyldon asked wryly.

"How did you know that it was his question?" Kel asked with amusement.

"You said that you'd promised to ask, meaning it wasn't your own question. I saw you talking with him earlier and anyone with a pair of eyes in his head can see that he's eating himself up about the girl's death," Wyldon replied frankly.

Kel sighed. "I can't convince him it's not his fault!"

"Relax Kel," Wyldon advised, placing a hand on her arm. "It won't have been the first person he's seen die who should have. He got over them; he'll get over this. Just give him time and space."

Kel stood thinking about that for a while after Wyldon had left, maybe he was right. But she didn't like to see Dom suffer. Shaking her head she ventured back to where she had left Dom.

"Well?" he asked from his seat on a cold marble bench nearby.

Kel sat down next to him and placed her hand on his knee. "He doesn't really know, Cazzir wants to return to the desert, Wyldon wants him to stay at the palace."

"Why?"

Kel quickly filled him in on Cazzir's tribe and hoped that Dom wasn't going to do what she thought he was going to do. "You better not offer to take him in!" she warned.

"Why not?" Dom asked, a hurt expression on his face. "Don't you think I would be able to cope with him?"

Kel laughed slightly. "Dom, you're in the field for nine months of the year! You can't drag him around with you, he belongs here. Even for the three months that you are here, you don't have a proper house or anything! You live in the Own's barracks!"

Dom looked suddenly despondent. "Lord Raoul said to do anything that would help me recover!"

"I hardly think he meant you take in a thirteen year old child. Maybe…" Kel trailed off, deep in thought. "Here's an idea that might be more suitable. If you are determined to help him somehow, give him the money he needs to buy weapons, get to know him, take him out into the city for a day out every now and again, even take him home to Masbolle for his summer break. Then, if you talk with Lord Raoul, you could ask him to take Cazzir on as his squire next year. I don't know whether he would, but where's the harm in asking?"

Dom nodded slowly and grinned. "Yeah, we'll give that a go."

- - -

Kel walked up to the King's study to find Neal sitting on the bench outside of it, talking to a court lady. He looked extremely bored.

"Neal!" Kel cried.

"Kel!" he answered, jumping up to hug her. "Long time, no see!"

Kel laughed. "True. I was trekking around the country with your cousin."

Neal raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

Kel swiped him. "With my brother, a Rider group and later the rest of the Third Company! It was nothing like that."

Neal grinned. "I didn't think it was, but you know how much I like to annoy you."

The court lady looked slightly put out to have been abandoned by Neal, but took it fairly well.

"So what were you doing?" Neal asked curiously.

"Well, when Dom tried to explain it to a friend yesterday why he hadn't kept a drink night, he said something like 'I've spent the last few weeks chasing my girlfriend around the country because she was determined to get herself killed,'" Kel replied wryly.

"What?" Neal asked in horror. "Killed?"

Kel shrugged. "Nothing to worry about. I spent a few days with my brother's and their children. That was great fun."

"Nothing to worry about?" Neal echoed. "If it involved the possibility of you getting killed, it's something to worry about. What did you do?"

"I'm surprised you didn't find out before now," a quiet voice replied from the doorway. The King stood, gesturing for them to come in.

Neal glowered at Kel and walked in, Kel followed.

"So are you going to explain?" Neal asked. Kel wasn't sure if he was asking her or the King.

"I only tried to stop a war!" she protested.

"Oh yes," Neal drawled. "That's something everyone tries to do. I expect the common person gets up and aims to stop a war before breakfast and another straight after lunch!"

"Shut up!" Kel snapped.

The King smiled slightly and turned to Neal. "She's still a bit put out with me because I sent someone after her that she couldn't refuse, your cousin."

"He was going to get himself killed!" Kel hissed, still angry with Jon for having pulled such a low trick.

"And so were you." Jon turned to Neal. "I'll fill you in. The Emperor threatened to declare war unless we handed Kel over to face justice. In other words we had to send her to them so they could kill her. We refused and thought it was the end of that. However, we hadn't bargained on Kel finding out about our refusal."

Neal laughed at this, he knew his best friend well enough to know what she would have done next.

"She ran off and I was forced to send people after her. I sent a Rider company, her brother and Dom. She nearly evaded them and was sailing towards international waters when they caught her. As they returned to docks they ran into raiders. Dom was separated from the rest, only to show up at Mindelan. There was one casualty in the fight, one of the Riders…"

"A woman that Dom had said he would protect because she was too tired to fight," Kel quietly interrupted. She tried to grin. "He's not feeling too good about that at the moment."

Neal smiled sympathetically.

"Anyway, now you know where Kel disappeared to, shall we get onto the real reason why I asked to see the both of you?" Jon held up his hand to Neal. "And yes Neal, I am well aware you already know, but Kel doesn't, so if you could find it in you to be quiet for even a short space of time?"

Neal shrugged and held a finger to his lips.

Jon grinned at the other male knight and turned his attention to Kel. "I wanted to ask you a favour, you don't need to agree, you're quite within your rights to refuse, but it would easier for us if you would agree."

Kel shrugged. "Just tell me what you want me to do."

Jon nodded. "Well, we – well, I – was wondering if you would mind giving up your afternoons. I know that currently your free time is your afternoons, but I was hoping that you would give that up."

"For what?" Kel asked suspiciously. Whilst Dom was at the palace she was going to be spending that time with him and maybe her other friends.

"You know as well as I do what the risks of pitting a sword against a pole arm are," Jon said. "It would be slaughter for those with the swords."

"Us, in other words," Neal added, breaking his silence.

Jon nodded. "To put it bluntly, yes, us. I was hoping that you would be able to give up your afternoons for a while to train some men, all knights, to use glaives."

"Certainly, Sire," Kel replied.

Jon nodded, a wide smile on his face. "Good."

"But what part does Neal have in this?" Kel asked suspiciously.

"Well, he's there just in case any of the men refuse to fight under a woman," Jon explained. "To stop the arguments."

"If the men refuse to fight under me, then they'll just get themselves killed. It's their decision," Kel snapped. "If you don't mind, I'll handle this on my own. I don't need someone to look after me."

"I told you that would be her reaction!" Neal exclaimed almost jubilantly and Kel realised that he would be spending his now free afternoons with Yuki.

Jon laughed. "Very well Neal. Dismissed."

Neal clapped Kel on the shoulder and walked out of the room.

Yuki…Kel thought in horror. "Sire," she said nervously. "What is happening to the Yamani ladies already over here? The ones that were part of the peace delegations?" She found herself cowering away from the answer, not wanting to hear but realising she needed to know.

Jon sighed. "Some people on my council feel that they should be sent straight back."

Kel looked at Jon with absolute horror written on her face. "Sire, please. Don't do that. Neal would be unbearable!"

Jon grinned. "That was one of the points raised by his father. We decided against sending them back. Some wanted them killed and we immediately decided against that, because that would only make us as bad as the Emperor himself. So we have come to the decision to allow them to stay under very close supervision and then they are there to use, if necessary as hostages."

Kel laughed hollowly. "The Emperor couldn't care less. He'd just sit on his throne and wait for you to kill them. Then he'd strike with vengeance and kill as many of our people as possible."

- - -

Kel walked with Lachran from the archery to the last lesson of the morning, hand-to-hand combat. Usually the pages' trainers would leave here, but Kel had been asked to stay. After all, she had trained at the Yamani court and for that reason she was proving to be a very popular person.

"Enjoying your first day?" Lachran asked with a grin that Kel considered slightly evil. He must know how hard she had been finding it, when she hadn't been demonstrating, she had been trying to ignore the comments from those boys brought up conservatively.

"I must remind Anders to do something about you!" Kel replied with a groan. "It's been a great experience, but I had no idea how hard it was to train people. I've absolutely no idea how my Lord managed to do this on his own!"

Lachran grinned, clapped her on the shoulder and went to join his friends in the corner of the training yard.

"Lady Knight," a voice called from the fence.

Kel turned to see a man who she hadn't seen since she had been thrown out of the page training all those years ago. His black hair and dark peach coloured skin meant that no one could mistake his Yamani heritage. He bowed low in Yamani style towards her and Kel grinned and bowed back.

"You know, if the Emperor could see that bow, he'd probably have you executed," Kel commented as she walked over and shook his hand. As she was a traitor in the eyes of the Emperor, no one, not even the lowliest servant should bow to her, never mind such a great warrior as the Shang Horse and he certainly shouldn't be bowing that low.

"And I don't care. I won't be going back there," the Horse replied with a grin that showed his white teeth. He stood back and studied her. "You've grown."

Kel laughed, allowing her merriment to show in her eyes and on her face. "I should certainly hope so, it must have at least eight years."

"Yes and maybe you'll be able to beat me now," Haukin suggested almost cheekily.

Kel shook her head. "I find that hard to believe."

"But eight years ago you nearly had me floored."

"Only because I took you by surprise!" Kel pointed out as she started to stretch.

"As touching as this reunion is, don't you think that the pages could use the benefit of your knowledge, Haukin?" a wry voice asked from the crowd of pages. "And maybe even yours, Kel."

"I see she still hasn't changed much," Kel hissed as she and Haukin joined the Wild Cat on the fence.

Haukin hid a grin as he started to limber up and the pages followed his moves.

When the pages were ordered to pair up there was one left over and Kel found herself paired with the young boy. She was slightly startled by Haukin's comment when he ordered her to pair with him,

"If I were you, I wouldn't hold anything back when we get to freestyle fighting," Haukin had said, but surely this thirteen-year-old couldn't be good enough to beat her?

When they started to run through all the moves taught to the pages in slow motion that Kel saw exactly how good this boy was. His moves were clean and precise and they flowed fluidly from one to the next. With intense interest, Kel studied him out of the corner of her eye. He was very tall for his age with grey eyes and a dirty mop of blonde hair. His nose looked like it had met several hard objects repeatedly and not had the benefit of a healer. Kel was puzzled to see his hands were callused and scarred, the sort of hands an experienced warrior had, not a page.

"Turn to face your partner!" Haukin yelled over the thumps and cries of pain.

Kel turned to face the boy, who bowed to her. "A great honour to meet you, Lady Knight," he said, his voice struck Kel as odd. It sounded like he had once had a noble accent but now it was hidden under a mixture of street and Maren.

"And I have the feeling it is a great honour to meet you. Who exactly are you?"

"Alan of Trebond, my Lady."

"And why was I told to watch out for you and to put all I had into this fight?" Kel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I've had a bit of Shang training," Alan admitted. That would explain his accent, Kel realised. After all, if he lived at the Shang Training Grounds for a few years, he was bound to pick up a Maren accent, but he would also have been living with commoners and was bound to have picked up some of their slang and accent.

Haukin walked over. "A lot more than a bit, actually. I make it eight years."

Kel whistled in awe. "That's a lot of training. Do you think I should back out now and save my dignity?"

Haukin laughed. "I'm sure you could cope with being beaten once."

"In the Isles I was beaten regularly," Kel replied as she watched the drill the others were working through. "And we're not doing that because?"

"Because I believe you are better than that. Besides, I want to test Alan against a style of fighting he won't know at all. I can pretty much assume that you, Kel, know mostly Yamani moves and that Alan will only know the Yamani moves that I've taught him. It should be an interesting and close fight."

Kel sighed, shed her tunic and rolled up her shirtsleeves. The shirt she wore had been white in the morning but now it was dusty and muddy with rips and tears. I don't think I've been this hard on my clothes since I was a _narwabi_, Kel thought as she tried to remember all the slightly more complex moves that Tait had taught her.

Tait…I will keep control, Kel thought slowly, imagining herself as a stone. She fought not to think of his betrayal of her and his part in her father's death.

"Kel?" Haukin called, trying to bring the woman back from the pre-battle trance she seemed to have fallen into.

Kel shook her head. "I won't think of him," she muttered to herself. "I'm stone."

"Stone?" Alan echoed in surprise.

"Don't ask," Kel and Haukin advised in unison.

Alan shrugged and moved into a fighting stance, his face was one of complete concentration and Kel almost stepped back, not in fear but awe. That amount of concentration took years to perfect and most of those in the Isles who got anywhere near that amount of focus were _calawabis_, maybe even Chosen Warriors. It was something that took a lot of work everyday.

Haukin nodded to them both and Alan made the first move. His fists hurtled towards her and Kel ducked, she only remembered at the last second to dodge the sweeping kick that came with his punch. She swung her right fist towards his chest and he ducked, as well as moving to escape the kick that he expected to come from her right leg. Instead she jumped and kicked him squarely in the chest with her left foot. He fell backwards and immediately rolled away from her as he got gracefully to his feet. He assumed a fighting stance as he kept his feet moving and Kel realised she was going to be the next one to make a move. She delivered a simple punch, which he deflected easily and then moved so fast that Kel couldn't keep track of what he was doing and she found herself sailing through the air. She twisted slightly in the air and landed in a crouch position just in front of the pair working next to them. As she inched towards him, he brought a kick up at her shoulder, which she ducked. Soon the fight was moving so fast that the watching pages couldn't keep a track of it. They watched on in amazement as a fellow page gave the second Lady Knight a run for her money. Alan was a flurry of quick kicks and punches whilst Kel relief more on force than on speed. Suddenly one move came into her head, a move that had taken her months to perfect and had caused Tait no end of grief. She delivered a punch to his face with her left hand and as he moved to deflect it she pulled back and grabbed both of his arms then brought her feet smashing into his legs in a low sweeping kick that caused him to fall backwards. As he fell she tightened her grip on his arms and wrenched him over her hip. He flew and skidded across the ground, cutting his face and arms. Injuries like that would usually keep a page on the floor, but Alan was Shang trained so despite the blood pouring from his lip and nose and the large lumps of grit stuck in wounds on his cheek, he rolled over and leapt to his feet. What he did next was so fast that Kel hardly caught it until she recognised the last few moves as something that Nariko, an instructor in the Isles, had taught her and presumably Haukin who had then passed it on to Alan. But Nariko had never performed it that fast. Without thinking Kel jumped to avoid his kick and sent both feet crashing into his stomach. As he fell backwards, Kel turned slightly so she avoided landed on top of him. She stepped back quickly and as Alan scrambled up she saw he was bleeding badly from the temple.

Haukin stepped in between them. "Alright, stop here. I don't want either of you getting more injured than you already have. Both of you get off to healers, now!"

Kel and Alan nodded wearily and Kel was surprised to see her white shirt stained in blood and that her nose felt slightly out of place.

"You fought very well," Kel congratulated the young boy as they walked away from the pages. They were staring in awe at the pair, but especially Alan who no one every wanted to be paired with because they knew they had no chance of winning and now they certainly didn't want to fight him at all.

Alan shrugged. "So did you, you'll have to teach me some of those moves some time." He was already wrapping his shirt around a wound on his arm and using the headband he wore to keep the hair out of his eyes as a means of stopping the blood form his temple.

Kel nodded. "If you want."

"Who do you think won?" Alan asked with a grin on his face despite the fact he was looking rather pale.

"Let's just call it a draw."

- - -

**A/N:** I swear, I go from one extreme to the other! From hardly updating to updating a lot! I'm not used to it, I think I'll faint. Well, maybe not. Ah well. Started a new fic, which I'll start posting in a few months. I _think_ it's different from everything else. Or at least, I've never read one like it.

So what do you guys think of Alan? He was an interesting character to write, but I wasn't sure about him. But I guess it doesn't really matter, he worked perfectly well for what he is (a chapter filler).

Hannah


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

Disclaimer: I guess it's this time again. I don't own any of Tammy's creations, however I do own: Ked, Jhedy, Tait, Salin, Jamil, Lord Parrton, Feran, the little girl with the gift at Mindelan, Judge Tremont (who gets no more than a brief mention), the black haired man that is a friend of Piers and Ilane, Farant, Saul, Ana, Naomi, Lora, Jacey, Essa, Jak, Ortun (a place, not a person), the street urchin, the merchant, Mysh, Adelaide, Kara, Francis, Mandy, Elissa, Arianne, Akred (Essa's brother), Alan of Trebond, the boy who can't joust and Sir Edric of Harsview. Oh, and the _Targita_.  
  
Chapter Twenty-three: A Company of Survivors 

As she trotted Hoshi around the quintain, her lance in one hand and Hoshi's reins in the other, she was aware of someone watching her. She finished demonstrating to the first year pages how to hold a lance correctly and then sent them to run at the quintain. None of them hit it and were promptly whacked by the sandbag. She hadn't expected anything more.

"Don't worry," she assured the pages, most of whom looked dismayed. "I didn't expect you hit it first time." She glanced over to where the forth-years were taking runs at the quintain. None of them missed, but only four of the five pages hit the little black dot in the middle of shield. The fifth page was Alan; it seemed he wasn't good at everything. In an odd way she was glad. Having seen him using a sword and bow this morning she had been intimidated by his skill, but that was to be expected. After all, he did have Shang training. She couldn't think why someone with that amount of skill he would drop out of training, but according to Lord Wyldon, Shang training had no longer interested Alan and he wanted to move onto something new.

Kel told the first years to continue taking runs at the quintain and moved to help a second year that kept bashing his horse's head with the lance.

"I want you to get the Wild Mage to have a look at that after this session," Kel instructed as she took the lance off of the boy. "And be more careful with your lance in future. You've got a good mount there, don't injure it, you can leave that to the enemy." She grabbed the page's hand and carefully placed the lance in his hand, then she angled the lance so that it should no longer hit the horse. "Make sure you keep lance at that angle, that way you shouldn't be whacking your poor horse over the head every time you take a run at the target. Go on, give it a go."

The boy kicked his horse into the canter and directed his horse towards the shield. As his lance started to fall, he brought his other hand up to support it and the lance smashed into the large red circle painted on the shield and the sandbag swung away. The force of the hit however had been too much and then boy fell sideways out of his saddle, the only thing preventing him from falling to ground was his leg entangled in one of his stirrups. Kel kicked Hoshi into a gallop and came up along side the boy's horse. She leant out of her saddle and reached for the reins and pulled the horse to a stop. Groaning, the boy tried to reach up to untangle his leg from the stirrup but he couldn't quite reach. Kel dismounted and yanked his leg free of his stirrup. He fell to the ground with a thud.

Lord Wyldon rode over, his face red with anger. "I would have thought that after two years you were capable of decent horsemanship!"

The boy said nothing but allowed Kel to pull him up off of the floor.

"You shall work for two hours in the armoury on Sunday."

"Yes, my Lord," the boy replied dutifully as Wyldon rode off.

Kel smiled at him sympathetically. "You wouldn't believe how much punishment work I got in my year here. Mind you, my best friend was worse and I highly doubt anyone has got anywhere near his record since. He must have spent at least six hours a week working in the armoury, the hay loft and writing essays."

The boy grinned. "I think you'll find Alan and Lachran have both easily equalled, if not exceeded that. Between them they manage to annoy my Lord so often that not a lesson goes by without one of them gaining punishment work. My Lord says that Alan's too used to the Shang style of learning and Lachran needs to screw his head back on and realise that he's here to learn, not to have a holiday."

Kel chuckled. That sounded like something Wyldon would say about her eldest nephew. Lachran had the habit of taking everything as it came and treating everything as a joke.

The feeling of being watched returned and Kel turned to the fence of the practise yard to see who it was. A young man was leaning with his arms crossed on the fence. His dark eyes studied her closely and she returned that stare. He wore the green armband of an off-duty knight and what she presumed were his house colours of red, gold and brown. From his waist hung a sword, it wasn't sheathed as was customary and Kel could see that it had been well used. He had plenty of battle scars on his arms, some of them recent, if how red and puffy they were was anything to go by. His face however remained almost untouched and almost quite handsome.

Not a patch on Dom though, Kel thought as left Hoshi where he was standing and walked towards him.

"Need any help?" Kel asked quietly.

"We're getting impatient. We've been waiting in the forest clearing for almost twenty minutes!" the man snapped and Kel realised that he was from the squad of men she was meant to be training. King Jonathan had ordered her to train them in the forest so that there was less chance of a Yamani spy spotting them and reporting back to the Isles with the information that troops were being trained in the art of Yamani fighting.

Kel shrugged calmly. "I was informed by his Majesty that I would be training you in the afternoon, for as you can see, I have other commitments in the morning. I'll meet you and your men in the forest clearing after your noon meal." With that, she strode towards Hoshi and mounted up, re-joining the pages in time to hear them being shouted at for not trying hard enough.

- - -

Kel took in the scene in front of her with something verging on distaste. The men that she was supposed to train were lounging around on tree roots and fallen branches. They laughed and joked among themselves. It looked like they didn't have a care in the world. They should have known better. The Royal Forest was infested with immortals and bandits, and not all of the immortals were friendly. Anyone going into the forest should be alert at all times and completely aware of everything going on around them, unlike the men she saw in front of her. They did have weapons, but they were piled against a tree on the other side of the clearing, too far for them to reach in time if an attack came. She would have thought that trained knight would have had more sense. 

She sighed and strode out into the clearing reluctantly. The sun was high in the sky and she didn't want to leave the shade that the trees offered. "Why are you, trained knights all of you, sitting on one side of the clearing whilst your weapons are on the other?" she asked as she lay her glaive at her feet.

The men tripped over each other as they scrambled for their weapons and formed two straight lines of fifteen in front of her. They held a variety of weapons. All had a sword and a shield and most had a bow and a quiver of arrows. She spotted six axes and five long knives. Only three held a pole arm and even then they looked old and unused, she was willing to bet that if she were to fight against someone with them, the wood would snap after four blocks maximum.

Kel spotted the man that had talked to her that morning. "Your name, fief and rank please."

"Sir Edric of Harsveiw, knight of the realm of Tortall."

That was odd, Kel thought. She would have thought that the most senior knight would have come to talk to her. "Actually, when I said rank, I meant your position within this company."

"This isn't a company, my Lady," Edric replied. "We're the remnants of at least five companies. We're the ones who survived the Scanran border."

Kel nodded slowly, she couldn't decide whether that was a good or a bad thing. If they were the ones that survived, it meant that they had plenty of skill so she would have something to work with, making her life easier. But that could also work against her. If they had survived they could become cocky and think they didn't need to learn anything new and ignore her. "And do you know why you're here?"

"We're going to be taught to fight by some merchant's daughter who can't fight herself, let alone teach anyone!" a man from the second row piped up.

Kel ignored his comment. "I'm here to teach you to fight like a Yamani so that you can —"

"Why would we want to fight like a Yamani barbarian?" a coarse voice interrupted.

Kel continued, ignoring his comment, but making a mental note to remind the King to employ someone to protect the Yamani ladies. If that were the general feeling, then it probably wouldn't be long before someone attacked them. "So that you won't be slaughtered as badly as you may have been. At least if you have this training you will be facing the Yamani Warriors on an _almost_ equal footing. They'll have the advantage of many years practise, but let me tell you, the amount of practise you shall be doing in the coming days will be enough to ensure you are at least competent."

The men snorted with laughter. "I highly doubt that those pigsticker wielding maniacs are any match for us. Do you think they have even trained a day in their entire life? I'd heard that they spent their days writing poetry and running up mountains." His last few remarks were directed at the men around him who burst into further laughter.

"Actually," Kel said in an almost calm and reasonable voice. "I think you'll find that the Yamani Warriors train harder than Tortallan knights do. When I was there, we trained with our weapons for six hours per day and still managed academic classes in the evening. As a page here you spend only four hours training per day and less once you are knighted."

The men clearly didn't believe her. They continued to laugh and Kel felt herself start to loose a grip on her temper.

"If you don't believe me, why don't I fight one of you? As I'm sure you know, I got most of my training in the Isles. When I was seventeen, I was ranked among the top ten young warriors at the Emperor's Court, but I'm older now. My fighting is nothing compared to the standard that you will face when the Emperor's Chosen Warriors face you in battle. So, who'll fight me?"

There was a moment of silence then Edric stepped forwards, pulling his sword from his belt. "I will."

Kel nodded and tossed her tunic onto the ground. She wore a short sleeved shirt and out of the pocket she pulled a headband to keep her hair away from her eyes. With her glaive in hand she advanced towards Edric.

The ensuing fight wasn't brief by any means but it was neither equally matched and long in length. Kel was certain that Edric would be able to hold his own if faced by a swordsman, but she wasn't a swordsman. She had a glaive and that made all the difference. It had a longer reach than his sword and gave her more protection from his blade. By the time her blade had reached his throat, there was no way he could remove it.

Kel let her glaive fall away and Edric stepped back into line.

"As you can see, the Yamani trainer's are perfectly capable people and turn out excellent Warriors. Now, my fighting was of a lower standard to most of the people that you shall be fighting, so think about that. If I, still a student in Yamani terms, can have my blade in the kill position within a short amount of time, imagine what a real Warrior could do in a battle situation. You would be dead within minutes of coming up against him."

The men were standing nonchalantly, or trying to, but no matter how hard they tried to look unimpressed, Kel could see that her fight had made an impression on them.

"But I was lead to believe that the glaive was only a woman's weapon!" Edric protested. "Surely we won't be fighting women!"

Kel shook her head. "You're right, you won't be fighting women, but the men all use pole arms as their main weapon. The design they use varies on their skill, but it's all based on the glaive. The most advanced Warriors use a weapon that looks so fearsome you wouldn't ever want to come up against anyone fighting with it."

Yet again, the men scoffed what she said.

Kel ignored them and held out her glaive for them to see. "Where there is a metal cap at the base of the glaive, they have what looks like the head of a spear. They can stab with it, and sometimes the tips are poisoned. The wooden staff itself is heavier, thicker and stronger than this. So whilst it is actually possible to break a glaive with a single sword stroke, you would have to hack repeatedly to break this. And the Warrior isn't going to leave you alive long enough for you to do that. On the blade end, they have a blade similar to this, only at the very end the blade divides into three, giving three tiny, but deadly spikes at the end. My father had one, he couldn't use it, but it was a gift from the Emperor showing his appreciation for helping to secure an alliance between the Isles and Tortall. They call it a _Targita_, the God's Blade."

The men were silenced temporarily by her description.

"I shall see you here tomorrow at this time," Kel announced through the silence as she gathered her weapons up. "Between now and then I expect you to have collected yourself a glaive and got used to its weight and length." She turned to leave.

"Begging your pardon, my Lady," a voice drawled. Although the words were polite, Kel knew it wasn't meant politely. "But I highly doubt that the palace armoury has a singly glaive in stock, let alone thirty of them!"

Kel nodded as she turned around to face them. "You're quite right there. But you're not going to get them from the armoury. Since I talked with the King about training you, Raven Armoury has been frantically making us thirty glaives. If you go in there, mention my name and that you need a glaive, they'll take you to where they're hidden."

- - -

As the heat of summer faded into blustering winds of autumn which disappeared as soon as they came into cold blizzards of winter and then into the damp relief of spring, the men improved steadily. They worked every afternoon and increasingly beyond dusk. If someone walked into the clearing they would be met with a strange sight.

Flaming torches were stuck in the ground, forming a circle around which the dim glitter of magic could be seen. It was protection magic and it kept as much of heat in as possible, the King had ordered Numair to set permanent wards in the area that only Kel and her men could access. In the dim light of the torches an observer would be able to make out thirty men sparring in threes and fours. There wasn't anyway to tell which men were fighting for the same side apart from the coloured armbands that fifteen wore. They fought with long stick like weapons. Each was about five feet in length with a steel cap on one end and a long curved blade on the other. A woman stood at the edge with one such weapon in her hand, occasionally she would walk into one of the fights and take someone's place. When she fought it was with such grace and aptitude that it obvious she was the teacher and they the pupils. As she fought she would talk to the man whose place she had taken and as soon as she was certain he understood she would step back and allow him to fight.

Kel was showing one of the more advanced men a slightly more complex pattern dance he could do when she heard someone calling her. She turned and saw someone standing outside of the wards. He didn't try to walk through them, so he obviously knew they were there.

"My Lady!" he called, his voice was muffled from having come through the wards.

Kel ordered her men to cease fighting but stay alert. For all she knew it could be a trap lead by Yamani spies. As soon as she walked out of the wards she could be surrounded. She walked effortlessly through the wards, resisting the urge to twitch, which was what the wards always seemed to do to her. "Yes?"

The man bowed to her. "My Lady, Sir Myles wishes you to meet him in his room as soon as possible."

Kel breathed deeply. She had been expecting this for some time. Her orders to fight wouldn't come from the King like that of her friends; they would come from Myles. He would make the decision based on the intelligence he was getting out of the Isles and when there was a big enough threat, Kel and her men would be called in. "Thank-you. Tell him I'll be there as soon as I can." She bowed to the man who bowed back and then turned and walked back into the wards. "I've got something to attend to," she told the men, not wanting to tell them they would be going into battle until she was absolutely certain. "I want you to continue practising until I get back." As she turned and walked through the woods, the men started to debate between themselves what was so important that their commander had left them to their own devices.

- - -

**A/N:** Alright…And yeah, I know that was a crud ending, but this and the next chapter were originally one, but it was far too long so I split them, and this was the best place.

Hannah


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

Disclaimer: I own nothing apart from the plot and the characters you don't recognise. The list of them is getting far to long to write out, but if you really, really, really, really, really, really, really (do you get the idea?) need to know, e-mail me and I'll get you the list.

**Quick A/N:** In advance I would like to apologise for any formatting problems. had some thing up about paragraph indentations and double spacing which I didn't really understand, but I tried to do it in this document. So if the formatting is all screwed, sorry. Some stuff that is meant to be in italics isn't, so do me a favour and pretend that they are? Please?

WARNING: Some of the language is…interesting. Though it isn't proper swearing (in the sense of words that rhythm with mitt and duck), I've used the Geordie equivalent as part of the Yamani language. I'm not even going to tell you what it means, 'cos otherwise I'd have to raise the rating and I don't think they've got a rating high enough for what _Mhaki_ means. Sorry to any Geordies (like myself) out there who find the language offensive, but it suited the context.  
  
Chapter Twenty-four: The Call to Battle

Kel jogged through the hallways of the palace, making her way to the deserted corridor where Sir Myles had his rooms and offices. She doubted that all her men were ready for battle. Many of them were, because they had respected her, listened to what she had to say and worked hard. The others would probably be better off hoping that they could fight with their swords or that there was a need for archers and they could fill those posts.

As she was deep in thought, someone grabbed her arm and she moved instinctively to throw her attacker to the floor when she recognised the face.

"Dom! You gave me a shock!" she exclaimed as he wrapped her arms around her. "What are you doing here?"

"Meathead just had a meeting with Sir Myles, I figured that you would have one as well," Dom explained. "It feels like I haven't had you to myself in ages!" he complained and the look on his face almost made Kel laugh. "You're either training the pages or missing all afternoon! Where do you go?"

Kel shook her head. "Can't say. But if you're feeling so neglected why don't we meet up tomorrow for dinner? I'll see if I can persuade my Lord Wyldon to give me the last lesson off and I'll meet you in the city for dinner. Does that sound like a good idea?"

Dom nodded distractedly as he fiddled with Kel's hair. Kel grabbed his hand and placed it back by his side. "Well I'll meet you by the Jugged Hare about twenty minutes before noon tomorrow."

Dom smiled and leant in to kiss her, but Kel ducked out of the way. "I'm sorry," she apologised with a smile. "But this meeting is really urgent."

Dom sighed and settled for kissing her quickly on the cheek then lightly shoving her towards Myles' door. "I'll see you there then," he called as he walked reluctantly away.

Kel rapped on Myles' door and it opened immediately. She was ushered inside and they sat down at the old knight's desk.

"I'm sorry to call you away from your men," Myles started. "But as I'm sure you guessed, this is quite urgent."

Kel nodded. "It's no problem. I left them practising and I'm sure most of them will still be practising when I get back."

Myles nodded. "Good. I have information coming out of the Isles that suggests there could be a major attack on the coast in the next few weeks. I have a spy close to Prince Ednar and apparently the Prince has been making preparations to head into battle. My man managed to find out that there are four squads of the Emperor's Chosen Warriors preparing to leave within the next week."

Kel took in this information calmly. A squad of Yamani Warriors was made up of twelve men each, which meant that there was nearly fifty men heading for their coast. Normally that wouldn't be anything to worry about, but it was what Myles went on to say that had Kel in a state of panic.

"Apparently, according to my informant, these are the _Artar_ and _Cerow_ companies. He had no idea what they were, apparently the Prince is very unwilling to tell."

Kel gulped. _Artar_ was the first letter of the Yamani alphabet and _Cerow_ was the second. In the Yamani Army, the Emperor's Chosen Warriors formed their own companies. Before the immortal attacks on the Isles, there had been sixteen companies, one for every letter of the alphabet. There were two squads to every company. Each company was ranked depending on their ability, using the letters of the alphabet. The idea was that the higher up the alphabet you were, the better the company. Now Tortall had the four best squads heading straight for their coastline. The men that made up the squads were formidable enough on their own, but when they worked as a group…they were a sight that made Kel quiver. She had seen a mock battle take place between the sixteen companies. At the end, the only men left standing were _Artar _and _Cerow_ men and they had only lost three men between them whilst the rest of the companies were 'dead'. Well, that was a lie, Tait had been in that battle and he had been _Yail_, the fourth group. He had gained immediate promotion.Kel quickly explained he system and exactly what that meant.

"So are you telling me that these men could take out a whole company of the King's Own?" Myles asked in disbelief.

"Worse," Kel replied quietly. "They could easily take out a whole company and half, maybe more in a real battle situation. To be blunt, we're in serious trouble."

"Why didn't we have information on these elite groups?" Myles wondered out loud.

"They're one of the most closely guarded secrets in the Yamani Army. Most ordinary soldiers believe that they are the Emperor's Bodyguards. Only the Emperor's Chosen Warriors know about the ranking system and upon becoming an Emperor's Chosen Warrior, they take an oath never to divulge any of those secrets."

"Well how do you know?" Myles asked warily.

"My first Warrior Lord was a _Cerow_ and my second was only _Yail_, but he was in charge of strategy for the army, he was training me to be his successor. So we both knew the secrets of the Army inside out," Kel explained. "So exactly what do you want me to do about the companies?"

Myles sighed. "How ready are your men?"

Kel closed her eyes. This was her chance, she could say that her men were no where near ready, that they would all be slaughtered. She opened her mouth to say as much then closed it again. Her country needed her and she couldn't leave it to fend for itself.

But it's a sad state of affairs when you and your men are the only hope to save your country, an almost evil voice in the far corner of her mind said.

_But I've got to fight it's my duty!_ Kel told the evil voice.

Duty? Hah! You shouldn't have to fight for them, they wouldn't let you train! If I don't fight, it'll be the same thing as fighting for the Isles!

The voice laughed and Kel cursed the doubtful part of her mind. "They'll be ready sir, and those that aren't will suddenly regret not having trained harder when…" Kel trailed off as she realised what she was about to say _'When the enemy's glaive cleanly takes off their head.'_ She shivered. She was becoming more and more like the Warriors in the Isles. Or maybe I'm just noticing it more, Kel thought, desperately hoping it was that.

Myles looked at her expectantly, wanting her to finish but Kel shook her head.

"They'll be ready sir. If you want, you can come and watch us train tomorrow afternoon."

Myles nodded, "Yes, I'd feel better if I did. I shall observe your training tomorrow, and, all being well, you and the other squads shall ride out tomorrow night."

"Other squads?" Kel questioned.

Myles looked surprised. "Did I not tell you?"

Kel shook her head warily. Was she going to have to command more than one squad? She knew she wouldn't be able to do that!

"Oh, well, we're not sending you out there alone. One other fighting squad will be coming with you, and another squad, a reconnaissance team. The fighting squad is made up of men and women with Yamani fighting experience. They have all spent time in the Isles, they are men and women that were originally spies and were based there at one time or another. I pulled them out of retirement to do me one last favour."

Retirement? Kel thought in horror. She wasn't going to get old men and women, was she?

Myles must have read her expression. "I don't mean retirement in the real world sense. I mean that they retired from the spy trade, they're doing other jobs now. Some are fighters, some work for the Queen, some do practical jobs like carpentry and blacksmithing. They're all very capable, there's about thirty, maybe forty of them. Your friend Sir Nealan of Queenscove is leading them."

"Neal?" Kel asked in amazement. "Why's he leading them?"

Myles laughed. "You know he served Lady Alanna during his squire years?"

Kel nodded. Of course she knew, she could still remember being jealous when she had first heard.

"Have you met her husband?" Myles asked.

"Yes, a few times. I stayed at Pirate's Swoop for a few months a while ago."

"Do you know what he does?"

That question struck Kel as odd until she remembered something that Thom had said after Kel had asked about all the people coming in and out of Swoop. _'Having a Lady Knight for a mother and the King's Second Spymaster as a father does mean we have an…interesting selection of people arriving and leaving at a moments notice. We have a few Scanran spies around here somewhere and I think we still have a spy from Carthak kicking around here. They'll wait until father can get all of their information, or, if it's very important, until Sir Myles can get here.'_

"He's the King's Second Spymaster, he's the one that actually has contact with the spies," Kel replied slowly.

Myles nodded. "I figured Thom had probably told you. He's not meant to, but he's usually careful with who he does tell. Anyway, because Sir Neal spent four years with my daughter he came into contact with a good many of the people that are going to be fighting. He is the best one to command them because he knows them _and_ I've been assured by Lord Wyldon that he is good with a halberd, so I'm afraid you're stuck with him."

Kel smiled. "I'll grit my teeth and bear it, sir," she joked. "And what about the other squad? Who leads them?"

"The reconnaissance squad?" Myles asked and when Kel nodded, he continued, "They'll have their own leader and their own agenda to follow. They are all capable of fighting but they'll only fight if they must."

Kel nodded. "So we all leave tomorrow night?"

Myles nodded. "Three hours after dark. You and your men should assemble in the forest where you usually meet, the other squads will be meeting elsewhere and you'll have to sneak out of the city because horses will be too loud. Onua and the Wild Mage have agreed to persuade your horses to make their way out of the city as quietly as possible. You'll meet up with them on the beach."

Kel nodded. "Can I go to tell the men?" she asked as Myles returned to his papers.

Myles nodded distractedly. "Of course. I shall see you at tomorrow afternoon's practise."

Kel nodded and walked towards the door, stepping over piles of papers and skirting boxes filled with evidence and dust.

"Kel," Myles voice was quiet and unsure and she froze with her hand on the doorknob.

"Yes sir?" Kel asked, she turned around to see him and he was a look on his face that she couldn't quite decipher. It seemed like he was undecided about something. "Is there anything more I can help you with?"

"Sit down Kel," Myles said quietly and almost hesitantly, Kel obeyed. "I can tell you why your father was killed."

Kel just stared at him, thousands of thoughts racing around her head so fast that she couldn't grab hold of them. She licked her lips nervously. "A-and?"

Myles sighed and seemed to change his mind. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea to tell you. You need to be able to concentrate on the battle. I don't want you to lose concentration."

It took all of Kel's Yamani calm not to reach over the desk and throttle him there and then. He couldn't taunt her like this! He shouldn't tell her that he knew and then not elaborate! She breathed deeply and slowly. After her tenth breath, she looked up and faced his pale blue eyes. "I want to know."

Myles shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"Look, I promise I won't do anything stupid! I won't loose my head in battle! I promise!"

If it had been anyone else making that promise, Myles would have refused straight off, but he knew the sort of focus taught at the Yamani courts. If she said she could keep control, then she probably could. He nodded. "I don't know where to start."

"The beginning!" Kel snapped and then bit her tongue. She hadn't meant to snap, but after months of not knowing _why_ her father had been killed she didn't want to wait any longer.

Myles seemed to understand. He didn't start to speak immediately however, first he rose and poured Kel and himself a drink and offered her an orange, which she readily accepted. No matter how anxious she was to find out about her father, it had still been a good six hours since she had eaten, six hours in which she had been doing strenuous practise.

As Kel dug her nails into the orange to peel it, Myles cleared his throat and walked into a cupboard. A few minutes later he came out again, covered in dust and carrying a box full of papers. "These are the reports I got that mentioned reactions to your father's death in the Isles," he explained as he set the box down, causing dust to fly and papers to rustle. "I thought you might want to have a look at them. Your parents were obviously very well liked people. Only those close to the Emperor and his son were told why you and your family were declared traitors, the rest were only told that you were traitors. Most people refused to believe that you were traitors. They don't believe that you could do anything traitorous —"

"We didn't!" Kel protested, breaking into his little speech.

Myles held up a hand to placate her. " —And they hold the same belief as I, your friends and nearly all of the council do."

Kel nodded and made a mental note to let Meathead know exactly how much she did appreciate his friendship. She knew he probably already knew, but she wanted to tell him all the same. After all, she couldn't ever remember telling her father exactly how much he meant to her and now she'd never have the chance. She couldn't let the people that she cared for in her life die or leave without knowing exactly how much they meant to her.

It was only when she heard her father's name mentioned that she realised she hadn't been paying attention.

"—which means that…" Myles stopped as Kel held up her hand.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I've head a word you said. Would you mind starting again?"

Myles smiled slightly and moved in his chair slightly so that he was more comfortable. "Alright, pay attention this time." His voice was gentle and there was hint of annoyance in it. "My man in the Isles, the one close to the Prince pieced this together a few months ago, but we wanted to confirm it before we let you know. I got confirmation a few weeks ago and now that I've cleared it with the King, I can tell you. My man, we'll call him Shailin to make things a bit easier. Well, Shailin did some investigating and questioning. It turns out that all your troubles stem from Prince Ednar."

Kel cursed the man she had once believed to be her friend. "That little _Mhaki_!" she growled, remembering the fun they had as children and the hours upon hours they spent training and testing each other's skills.

"_Mhaki_?" Myles questioned.

Kel blushed, that was the sort of language that a noble of her station wasn't supposed to know, let alone use. "It's –" she struggled to find a way of expressing it politely. "It's one of the worst insults I could use against him," she said, finally settling for something very vague.

Myles nodded but Kel could tell he hadn't cottoned on to what it meant, because otherwise even he would have looked shocked. "Anyway, so as I was saying, all your troubles stem from Prince Ednar and his Tribulation."

Kel settled back into her seat, eating her orange delicately and determined that she wouldn't interrupt him, no matter what he said.

"As I'm sure you know, the Tribulation is like the Chamber of Ordeal in nearly all aspects, except that you can talk about what happened in it, although many don't."

Kel nodded her agreement, showing Myles that his facts were right.

"However, what happened in Ednar's Tribulation was enough to make him go straight to the Emperor and tell him exactly what he had seen. Then acting on Ednar's information, the Emperor declared you traitors and ordered your deaths. We knew this a few months ago, but it still left the question of what Ednar actually saw. Acting on orders from me, Shailin coaxed the Prince into telling him. Apparently Ednar first heard some voices talking and he thought they sounded almost immortal and knows for a fact at least one of them was a Goddess. They were talking about someone, saying that what was happening wasn't what was meant for her. Then apparently a third voice entered the conversation and said that he or she would do something about it. Then Shailin said the Prince told him the scene changed. He saw you, at the head of a Tortallan army. You were riding with a man he described as the 'green magic man' and you called him Neal. Apparently you were riding along the coast, hunting a Yamani fleet. You and this Neal joked about two people, one of whom the Prince recognised, Yuki. The other he didn't, someone by the name of Dom."

Kel blushed and Myles grinned.

"Apparently the scene then changed and the Prince found himself at the head of the Yamani fleet of ships. He ordered his men to the town, meaning they were probably raiders. Your men and his came into battle and you killed him."

Kel closed her eyes and fought not to cry. Yet another friend that she would kill.

"The Prince interpreted it to mean that you had defected. He told the Emperor who ordered your death and that of anyone on the same ship as you."

Kel, still with her eyes closed, leant forwards and rested her head on the desk. This was just too much to take in at once. Ednar had been responsible for her father's death? The same Ednar that had treated her father like his own because his real father was never around or willing to talk. Piers had often said that Ednar was like Conal had been when he was younger. Kel could remember being jealous of Ednar and talking to her mother about it.

_"Mama," she had asked in a childish Yamani that had a heavy common accent._

_Ilane turned to her daughter. "Yes dear?" she had asked whilst she pulled the covers up to Kel's chin._

_"Why doesn't Ednar play with his own father? Why does he have to steal mine?" Looking back, it was a petty thing to say, but it was very important to the seven-year-old girl._

_Ilane had laughed and sat down on Kel's bed. "He's not stealing your father Kel! Wherever did you get that idea?"_

_"Papa always talks to Ednar about the peace treaty, he never talks to me about it!" Kel sat up in bed, holding her teddy bear by the ear. "And Ednar's meant to be my friend! Whenever he comes around he talks with Papa more of the time than he talks with me!"_

_Ilane sighed. "Do you know who Ednar's father is?"_

_Kel shrugged. "Isn't he the Emperor?"_

_Ilane nodded. "Yes, and the Emperor is a very busy person. He doesn't have as much time as your Papa does to play with Ednar. Your Papa is just being kind."_

_Kel pouted childishly. "But…"_

_"Oh, don't spoil Ednar's fun, Kel! Or your father's for that matter. You know how much he has missed your brothers. He likes having another male to talk to."_

_Kel sighed. "I still don't like it."_

_"You don't have to like everything, just let Ednar have his fun."_

_Submissively, Kel had nodded and turned away. When her mother had left the room, she imagined all the things she could do to the Emperor to force him to spend more time with Ednar and give her father back._

Kel smiled slightly. She had never tried any of those childish plans; it embarrassed her that she had even thought about it. She couldn't imagine what Meathead would say if he found, but she wasn't going to give him the chance to find out.

"Kel?" Myles asked. His voice was full of worry for the Lady Knight who seemed to have fallen deep into thought. "Are you okay?"

Kel sighed. "Yes," she replied, her voice was level thanks to years of practise.

Myles raised his eyebrows in disbelief, but knew better than to say that he didn't believe her. "I asked Numair about what the Prince had seen and heard and showed him the transcripts of the Tribulation that the Emperor insisted were made that Shailin had stolen."

"What did he say?" Kel asked, licking her lips nervously and taking a drink.

"Well…he thinks that what Ednar saw is most likely true."

"I'm going to kill him?" Kel asked faintly.

Myles smiled sympathetically. "Sorry, that's what Numair says. But he also says that Ednar interpreted it wrong."

"Well what else was it meant to mean?" Kel asked distractedly.

"Numair reckons that Ednar forgot to pay attention to the voices at the start and end. He says that they hold the key to how the events should be interpreted. You were meant to be fighting for Tortall, you should have been allowed to become a knight. The Tribulation showed this to Ednar in the hope that he would persuade his father to release you from your vows of allegiance, but he misinterpreted it. He thought it meant you were a traitor. You were shown fighting the Yamani fleet because when you weren't allowed to train as a knight, it effectively disrupted the 'fabric of time' to quote my daughter, who talked to the Goddess about this."

Kel was shocked to find that the Lioness had been going out of her way to talk to the _Goddess_ about her!

"If you had to fight for the Yamani Emperor, things that shouldn't happen would and things that should happen, wouldn't. It's all very complicated and I get the idea I'm making a mess of explaining this, so I'll try to simplify it. If the Tribulation hadn't shown the Prince you fighting for Tortall, you would be a Chosen Warrior and everything would go horribly wrong. By showing you at the head of a Tortallan Army, you were released from your vows to the Emperor and could fight for Tortall. The fact that the Tribulation showed Ednar you fighting Yamani fleets was coincidence. Numair thinks that it just picked one of the hundreds of futures and unfortunately now we are heading down that path."

Kel sighed and massaged her head. "So in short, fighting for Tortall is what I was meant to do and the Tribulation relied on Ednar to sort out my future, but unfortunately he really made a mess of things. Great!" Kel jumped up and strode to the door. "Thanks, even though I wish I didn't know now, I'm glad you told me."

Myles nodded. He excused her rude behaviour and returned to his paperwork, only to flinch when the door slammed a little harder than necessary as Kel left the room.

- - -

Kel let her features smooth themselves as she strode towards the clearing in the forest. It was almost completely dark now, but through the dim light of the beacons she could see just over half of the men practising, sparring against each other. The others sat around, laughing and joking. Kel held her anger under her skin and clapped her hands.

"Those of you who wish to keep your heads in the coming battle would do well to practise. On the other hand, those of you who couldn't care less whether you live or die can just continue to laze around. We leave tomorrow night." She turned and strode out of the clearing, leaving the men behind her standing in shocked silence.

- - -

She folded another pair of breeches and laid them at the bottom of her saddlebags with her spare shirt and loincloth. She chucked in some army rations that she had taken from the palace kitchens and on top of that placed all her weapon cleaning gear.

Although her movements were slow and graceful, inside she was fuming. She cursed every single God and Goddess that she knew. That probably wasn't a wise idea if she was riding for battle the next day, but at that time she didn't care. Why did they have to mess up Ednar's Tribulation? Why couldn't they have just told him plainly that she wasn't meant to fight for the Yamani Isles?

At the moment she wanted nothing more than to be able to explain to Ednar what had happened, to explain where he had gone wrong and sort out the tensions between Tortall and the Yamani Isles. Kel grinned bitterly, if her father could hear her, he would say _'A true Diplomat's daughter, you really take after me.'_ Kel sighed. Although she wanted to explain to Ednar what had gone wrong, she couldn't. The next time they would meet would be in battle and she was going to kill him. She was going to have to kill another friend. It didn't make her feel any better when she reminded herself that she was doing it for her country, for Tortall.

With a low growl she tightened the straps on the saddlebags and threw them to the other side of the room.

The door flew open just in time to see the bags land against the cupboard, making it rock back and forth violently, nearly falling over.

"Neal said the two of you were commanding forces that were leaving tomorrow night," Dom said quickly as he grabbed the wardrobe to stop it falling and then sat down behind Kel, pulling her back so he sat on his lap.

"Neal talks too much," Kel replied, leaning back against his chest and letting Dom run his hand through her hair.

Dom shrugged. "He did say something about it being top-secret and how he wasn't meant to tell anyone, but he then went on to tell me that the two of you are riding out tomorrow night with three squads."

Kel turned and buried her head in Dom's shoulder. "Yeah," she replied, her voice muffled by his tunic.

"Scared?" Dom asked as he stroked the back of her neck. He looked down to see her shake her head. What she said next alarmed him more than he would care to admit.

"It's not like I really mind dying, which has to be a good thing considering what we're up against." Kel didn't give him a chance to protest. "No, it's just…Myles gave me some other news, about my father."

Dom felt his breath hitch. Kel didn't need this now, especially not just before a battle that she didn't think she would come back from. "What did he say?" he asked gently.

Kel sighed and leant back so she could see Dom's face. It was full of worry and his blue eyes were overly bright and studied her intently. She reached up and stroked his cheek.

He chuckled under his breath and leant down to kiss her.

Someone cleared their throat in the doorway.

Dom paused, staring at Kel intently. Slowly, very slowly, he turned his head to the doorway. "What are you doing here?" he asked the intruder.

"I couldn't find you in your rooms, so I figured you'd be here," the intruder said and as he spoke, Kel recognised the speaker as Raoul, Dom's commander.

"Was there anything you wanted? Or are you just trying to annoy me?" Dom asked with a slight trace of humour in his voice, but for the most part he sounded annoyed.

"I'd say I was succeeding in annoying you," Raoul drawled. "And yes, there was something I wanted. I was wondering whether you had actually remembered that we have a debriefing. One which started a good twenty minutes ago?"

Dom breathed deeply and closed his eyes. "Give me five minutes." He looked hopefully at Raoul. "Please?"

Raoul chuckled richly and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Kel smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled as he grinned and leant forwards, kissing her nose gently and then each of her eyelids.

"Now," he said as he pulled away. "As much as I would like to continue this, you didn't answer my question."

Kel sighed and released her hold on his neck. She allowed herself to flop back onto her bed so she was lying across his lap, her head on her bed. In as little words as possible, she explained what Myles had told her.

Raoul, standing outside the door, decided to leave his sergeant with his lady. It seemed she would need him more than the squad currently needed him. After all, it wasn't really an important briefing. He grinned slightly as he thought of the endless teasing the men were going to give Dom for this as he walked off towards his rooms.

Dom stared a Kel, at a loss for words. "Kel, I —"

Kel shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Shouldn't you be getting off to your meeting?"

Dom shifted slightly so he was lying down next to Kel and he placed an arm around her shoulders, gripping them tightly. "I'm sure he'll understand."

Kel turned so she could see him. "I'm telling you to get to that meeting, now!"

Dom shook his head. "Bloody Mithros Kel! Can't you accept for once that you actually need someone to talk to?"

Kel didn't say anything to that comment, but turned her head to his shoulder and buried her head in it, breathing his own sweet smell. Dom watched until she fell asleep and then gently placed her under the covers and tucked up. He carefully slipped out to find his commander and get down on his knees and beg for forgiveness.

- - -

**A/N:** Well…that was…interesting. I've just finished another chapter, so that should be up before the end of the week, but I can't make any promises.

Hannah


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

**Chapter Twenty-five: Saying Goodbyes**

Kel woke up well before the sun rose and with a heavy heart she realised that this could very well be the last day that she saw Dom. She was riding out tonight and she didn't really expect any of her men to come back and she thought she would die with them. She turned and expected to see him next to her, where he had been when she had fallen asleep, but he wasn't there.

Sighing, she flung the covers off of her and threw some clothes on. Then she sat by her window until dawn broke and she knew Dom would be awake.

She crept through the corridors, trying not to wake any of the people who were sane enough to still be asleep. As she entered the Own's barracks, she was even quieter. She couldn't tell why, whether it was just because she respected that they wanted their sleep, or whether it was because she didn't want them knowing she was going to visit Dom.

Rapping on his door, she stood back. He opened the door and his surprise registered on his face.

"Kel? Is everything okay?" he asked anxiously as he gestured for her to come in.

Kel nodded mutely. "I'm fine. I — I just wanted to say goodbye, because I can't make lunch and…" she trailed off.

Dom took two large strides towards her and wrapped his arms around her. "You are coming back," he whispered, but Kel could hear the doubt in his voice. "You are."

Kel smiled at him, but didn't believe him. What chance did she and some half-trained men stand against the best Warriors in the Yamani Isles?

Dom swallowed and kissed her firmly. "You _are_ coming back! You'd better!"

Kel didn't know what to say to that, so she turned her head up for another kiss. Dom was happy to oblige and kissed her slowly and sweetly. His hands deftly pulled her shirt from her breeches, giving his hands further to roam up and down her back. She gasped as she felt him fiddling with her breastband and moved to catch it as he unhooked it and let it fall to the floor. Kel was about to protest and then made the mistake of looking into his eyes, they were filled with such longing that she could hardly say no. His tunic had found its way to the floor and he was about to pull her shirt over her head when shouting down the corridor brought them sharply back to their senses.

Kel moaned and cursed whoever it was. It was only when the shouting got closer that she actually separated from Dom.

There was a brusque knock on the door and a voice shouted, "Dom, we've been called out. Yamani raiders have struck the coast and my Lord is taking the Third Company."

From all around the barracks, Kel could the men cursing as they scrambled into their uniforms and hunted around for weapons and cloaks. For a brief moment she was reminded of the common scenes in the barracks that the _narwabis_ and _calawabis_ had shared. The training masters in the Isles had believed that the best way to train fighters was to give them battle experience, so whenever a major attack came or pirates struck the palace they were rooted from their rooms and told to get there and fight. She could remember being woken up at all times of the night and having to hunt for clothes and weapons in the dark and then she had to find Hoshi in the courtyard where all the horses had been led and saddled.

Dom looked down at her, smiled and kissed her one last time. "I'd better get ready. My Lord won't be pleased if I'm late."

Kel nodded and was about to leave when Dom caught her sleeve. "Stay a while?" he asked, almost plaintively.

Kel sighed and smiled. "I'll see you off," she replied and sat back down on the bed, watching his graceful movements as he ransacked his cupboards to hunt for a spare cloak.

"Thanks," Dom replied as the two of them lifted his saddlebags from the floor and headed for the Own's stables.

He readied his mounts with speed and eagerly bit into fresh bread that Lerant was handing out. Kel attached his saddlebags to his mount and then turned to his other horse and fussed over it.

"Seems like she prefers your horse to you," Lerant drawled, clapping Dom on the shoulder.

"Can't say I blame her though," another voice joked.

Kel smiled and turned to greet Qasim and Lerant. She bowed to them both and was about to make a rude reply to their earlier comments when she heard someone shouting.

"Kel!" a voice yelled frantically.

Kel turned to see Edric running towards her. "Edric?" she asked in surprise. "Is everything alright?"

Edric stopped just in front of her and it was only when he did that Kel managed to take in his appearance. He was dressed in full battle gear, his sword was strapped to his waist and he gripped his glaive.

"Edric," she said warningly. "Please tell me your just playing at dressing up!"

Edric shook his head. "Myles was – looking for you – he says that – we ride out – as soon as – he checked – the troops," he gasped as he struggled for breath. He looked like he had been running for a while.

"I thought we rode out tonight!" Kel snapped as she watched her troops making their way to the forest, all in full battle gear and leading their horses.

"Apparently Myles got some more information, the Prince and the troops he is leading left yesterday. They left at full speed. They could be at the coast by tomorrow night."

Kel cursed. "Mithros! I thought we had until tonight!"

Qasim looked bemused. "Do you want to tell me what's happening?"

Kel shook her head. "Can't." She turned back to Edric. "Um…Get down to the forest with your horse. I presume Myles is headed down there?" When Edric nodded, Kel continued. "I'll be down there as soon as I can, get the men to run through the Hawk Flies Free pattern dance at full speed and then divide yourselves into two unequal teams and have a mock battle. I'm sure you know the drill."

Edric nodded and headed towards his horse.

Kel turned with an apologetic smile to Dom. "I'm sorry. I can't see you off."

Dom smiled back, but Kel could see he was disappointed. "It's no problem." He hugged her tight. "Now get to your troops. Goddess bless Kel."

Kel smiled tightly at him and ran for her rooms where she struggled into her chain mail and strapped her sword to her waist, a spare glaive to her back and grabbed her saddlebags and her glaive. The men of the Own were still milling around in the courtyard when Kel rode through on Hoshi and towards the forest.

* * *

"With most of your men, you wouldn't be able to tell that they haven't had three or four years of training," Myles commented.

"However," Wyldon said, striding into the clearing. "Some of your men look like clumsy buffoons who haven't paid the slightest bit of attention to your teaching."

"My Lord!" Kel exclaimed as she bowed to him. "Aren't you meant to be teaching?"

"You didn't show up, so I came to find you. A palace servant said they saw you rushing down here just after dawn," Wyldon replied, looking from Kel to the men she was training and back again.

"I'm sorry, my Lord, but this was completely unexpected. I was going to tell you in this mornings training session that I probably wouldn't be around for a while, but I didn't even get the chance to come to the session this morning."

"So what is going on here?" he asked, more of Myles than Kel.

And it was Myles that replied. "Kel is leading these troops, along with two other squads down the coast to meet the Yamani Prince and the elite fighters he's bringing with him. She was meant to be leaving tonight, but our schedule was suddenly brought forwards."

Kel didn't bother to glance at Wyldon to gauge his reaction, but instead she ordered her men to stop and mount up. They did with ease and soon Kel had two columns of fifteen men and horses waiting to leave. She bowed to Myles. "We are still meeting Neal and the other men on the beach?" she asked as she mounted Hoshi.

"Nealan of Queenscove?" Wyldon asked with amusement. "He's in charge of a squad of men?"

Myles grinned slightly. "A squad of ex-spies," he replied and nodded to Kel. "Yes, you meet them on the beach. Neal's squad may be a little longer in coming, they're coming from all over the city." He handed Kel a map. "I've marked on the map all the possible areas where they may try to dock, you'll need to find some way of keeping them all covered."

Kel nodded. "I know, sir."

Myles smiled at her. "If you come home, I'll recommend to Jonathan that you have more posts like this, you're good at it."

Kel shrugged.

Myles sighed. "Mithros be with you, Kel," he said quietly. Then louder, he said to the men, "Try to remember everything that Lady Kel taught you. Mithros be with you all."

It was only after Kel had rode out at the front of the men that Wyldon turned to Myles.

"If?" he questioned. 'If' wasn't a word you said to soldiers going into battle.

"If," Myles confirmed. "The men they're up against could easily slaughter one and a half squads of the King's Own, maybe more. We're sending sixty fighting men and women, excluding commanders. They don't really stand a chance, but they're our best hope."

Wyldon sighed. He didn't fancy trying to explain to Lachran why he had stood and watched Kel ride out to her death.  
Kel sat on the sand and stared out to sea. Idly she picked up a handful of sand and let it trickle through her fingers. The waves lapped gently at her bare feet and, reaching around for a flat stone, she sent it skimming over the sea.

* * *

"You're a fair shot," Edric commented as he sat down next to her.

Kel grinned slightly. "I guess that's what comes from having lived on an island for most of my life."

Edric nodded. "That would make sense."

Neither of them said anything more, they just sat there in silence until Edric turned to Kel with a slight grin on his face. "Who was that man you were talking with when I came to find you?"

The Kel of a year ago would have blushed, but not this one. "Which one?" she asked cheekily. "As far as I can remember I was talking with a lot of them."

Edric grinned. "You know exactly who I mean. The sergeant."

"What? Dom?" Kel asked innocently.

"Yes, Dom."

"What about Dom?" Kel asked, stretching out and staring up into the sky.

Edric groaned. "You know exactly what I mean!" Kel looked at him with such innocence that Edric couldn't help but laugh. "Don't play games."

Kel shrugged. "I've no idea what you mean."

Edric raised his eyebrows. "So, who is this 'Dom'?"

Kel smiled slightly to herself as she pictured his face. "A sergeant in the Third Company of the King's Own. Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle. He's actually the cousin of the man who will be leading one of the other squads."

Edric nodded. "And how long have you been courting him?"

Kel spluttered. "What? Why did you ask that?"

"It's true, isn't it?"

"Yes, but how did you know that?"

Edric grinned. "You honestly think that someone as famous as yourself can do anything or go anywhere without someone finding out and then gossiping about it?"

Kel grinned ruefully. "I guess not."

"So?" Edric asked.

Kel glared at him. "You're as bad as my sisters!"

Edric shrugged. "Just interested. And anyways, what else will we do until the other squads get here unless we talk?"

"We could talk, just not about this?" Kel suggested.

Edric grinned.

Kel sighed. "A few months under two years." She turned so she could see Edric. "And what about you and your lady?"

"How did you know about that?" Edric asked in surprise.

"I saw the two of you in the gardens a few weeks back," Kel explained.

Edric nodded. "We got married last year."

Kel grinned. "Congratulations, I know it's late, but congratulations."

"Thanks."

Kel heard the sound of voices and looked up. Riding towards her was Neal and a woman. Behind them were roughly fifty men or women. Ten of them wore the clothes of a Yamani servant, a long kimono in brown with a white obi. They had their hair cut above their ears, all of them, showing their low rank as was the custom in the Isles and all were armed. In most respects they appeared to be Yamani, but when they got closer, Kel could easily tell that their tan was fake and that underneath it they were as pale as any other Tortallan. They were obviously the reconnaissance team. It was a wise idea to dress as a Yamani, if they were caught on the ships, they could just claim that they were Yamani servants. The other forty or so wore light chain mail under leather jerkins and carried glaives and other pole arms, Kel even spotted a _Targita_. They were obviously the men that Neal was commanding.

"Kel!" Neal cried as soon as he saw her. He leapt off of his horse and ran towards her. As he swept her up in a tight hug, accusing wolf-whistles came from the men that they commanded.

Kel laughed and untangled herself from Neal. She turned to face her men. "This is Sir Nealan of Queenscove, my best _friend_."

Her men laughed. "Sure," Leon drawled.

Neal walked over. "Believe me soldier, there's nothing between Kel and I. She's too good with her glaive for my liking."

"So is Yuki," Kel replied, then told the men who Yuki was.

"That's different," Neal answered. "She doesn't use it against me. Now you, on the other hand, have nearly lopped my head off with it more than once."

Kel shrugged. She turned to the woman Neal had been walking with. Proffering her hand, she said, "I'm Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan. I'm in charge of those men over there." She gestured at her men who were lying around in the sand, enjoying what would probably be their last chance to relax.

"I'm Sofia, I've got the joy of commanding these lovely folk," the woman replied, gesturing at the ten men and women in the Yamani costume and Kel liked her immediately. She had dark but honest eyes black hair which Kel expected was dyed.

"Aww, Sof, you know you really like us," one of the men joked.

Sofia raised her eyebrows. "Really? Why on earth would I like you?"

Neal gestured to Kel and the two of them walked away from the group, to where they couldn't be heard. "How did Dom take the news that you were leaving?" Neal asked her with concern showing in his eyes.

Kel thought of the few moments they had shared in his room. "We didn't talk about it much." Then she added, "He got called out." She didn't want Neal getting the wrong impression – although in some respects, he wouldn't have been far from the truth. "And what about Yuki?"

Neal sighed. "Upset would put it mildly."

Kel laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She'll be fine. They'll be plenty of other ladies at court whose men are away at war, she'll have plenty of company."

Neal closed his eyes. "But most of those ladies think their men will come back. We're not coming back." As he said it, his voice cracked.

"No," Kel agreed quietly. "We're not. But there is no need to tell the men that. My men think we've got a fighting chance, they don't realise exactly what it is we're up against."

"Mine do," Neal replied. "And that's what scares me. I must be such a coward!"

"Coward?" Kel asked in amazement. "You're here. We're going to be fighting some of the best warriors on the other side of the Emerald Ocean! You're not a coward!"

"I'm only here because I've been ordered to, because it's my duty. My men are here because they volunteered. They've got husbands or wives and children, yet they are still here! Given the chance, I wouldn't be here. I'm a coward Kel."

Kel laughed slightly. "Neal, you aren't a coward. A coward would run away. You're not."

Neal sighed and finally opened his eyes.

"Come on," Kel said gently. "We've got to get moving."

* * *

"Neal!" Kel hissed, shaking her friend awake. "For Mithros' sake, Neal! Wake up!"

Neal groaned and pulled his sleeping bag over his head.

Kel ripped his sleeping bag out of his hold. "Neal, wake up. Get up now. The patrol that was sent out at dawn has sighted what they think to be the fleet!"

Neal sat up, suddenly awake. "How long do we have?" he asked as he scrambled out of his sleeping bag and started to scrounge for clean clothes.

Kel watched her friend with amusement. He had no clue where anything was in his tent. She handed him one of his tunics and a pair of breeches. "Enough time to be ready. They were sighted a good fifteen miles down the coast —"

"There's a village down there!" Neal exclaimed, his voice muffled as he pulled a clean tunic over his head. "The Lioness and I spent a lot of time there, doing healing stuff."

Kel cursed. Having to fight against the Emperor's Chosen Warriors was bad enough, but knowing that if they failed a good one hundred people could die was even worse. "We'll have to find some way to evacuate the village," she replied.

Neal nodded. "I'll go and talk with the headman, maybe he'll be able to get the people away. Could you get me some breakfast to eat on the way?"

* * *

The camp that they had made had been up for only a week, and dissembling it was light work, especially for the knights who had been trained for this sort of thing. Within fifteen minutes of the patrol coming in, Kel was mounted and behind her was her troops and the men and women that Neal commanded. The reconnaissance team was still going over their brief and were huddled a few metres away. Neal had left a while ago, leaving Kel in charge of his troops. They were to meet him at the village.

She could sense the nervousness of her men and that feeling was easily transferred to their horses. The massive beasts shifted from leg to leg and their riders fought to keep them still. Kel sighed and looked down at Hoshi who stood perfectly still, a credit to his Yamani training. She wished she didn't have to ride her mount into battle, she didn't want it getting killed. It seemed like a waste. Hoshi was too good a horse to waste in battle, but she had no other horse.

"Ready?" she yelled to Sofia.

Sofia nodded, said something to her team and they mounted up. Sofia rode over, and her team formed a single line behind her. "Goddess bless," she said quietly.

Kel smiled slightly, it was a strained smile. "And you. We'll need it."

Sofia shook her head. "You'll need it. Our orders strictly tell us that we aren't to go anywhere near the fighting. You're on your own."

Kel nodded. "I can see the sense in that, after all, they'll need the information that you gather to help in the war."

Sofia nodded and gestured towards the sea. "Don't you think we ought to be going?"

Kel sighed. "Yes." She turned to her men and suddenly realised she didn't know what to say. They were riding into battle, a battle that she didn't expect any of them to live through. She ought at least to have some inspirational words to say, all the good commanders did. She didn't though. A good commander would be able to rally their troops, Kel thought sadly. I'm not a good commander. I won't even survive my first command mission. "May Mithros be with you and let Him guide your blades," she said. Her voice was so quiet that the men had trouble hearing, but they did and they gave the customary reply.

"May He guide your blade and be with you," they murmured, most of them looking uncomfortably down at their saddles.

Kel kicked Hoshi into a gentle gallop and as she rode, she studied the sea. It was restless and a few big waves slapped against the beach, not the ideal weather for sailing, but it wouldn't delay the Yamani troops. A mist was rolling in off of the sea and it was making the air feel damp and uncomfortable.

A lone rider advanced towards them at a gallop, then slowed and joined the head of the troops.

"The village are retreating to the hills, apparently there are some caves there that they can hide in," Neal replied. He was pale and his emerald eyes flickered around nervously as if he expected someone to jump out in front of him almost immediately.

Kel nodded. "Thanks." She looked at her best friend with obvious sadness. "I just realised I never told you how much you mean to me," she said quietly, her voice pitched so that only the two of them could hear. "I just wanted to say…thanks for being there when I needed you."

Neal tried to smile. "Yeah, I could say the same thing to you. Thanks."

They rode on for perhaps ten minutes in complete silence. No one uttered a word. It seemed that maybe the men who didn't know they were going to die had caught on, everyone was too caught up in their own thoughts to talk to anyone else.

Kel recognised a cove they were coming up to as one of the coves Myles had said the fleet could land in and she brought the columns to a halt as Sofia and her troop went to a hiding place and awaited the arrival of the ships.

"Commander, over there!" Leon yelled, gesturing out to sea. "A Yamani fleet!"

Out on the rough sea, fourteen red sailed boats were floating. No one could be seen on deck and the boats seemed deserted. Eerie blue winds whipped around the sails, pushing the boats forward as they vied for the first landing spot. On the lead boat, there was a small movement. A tall man moved to the bow. He wore the red gloves and sash of commander. His dark eyes were murderous and he just stood there, waiting to land, waiting until he could kill the traitor and finally give her what she deserved.

* * *

**A/N:** Well…that's interesting, I didn't really like that chapter, it just seemed…well – odd, but I re-wrote it again and again, but it didn't turn out that different, so you're stuck with this. And i can't get section breakers to work again. I know the stars don't, but now the dashes don't work either, so I apologise for the confusing nature of this chapter. However, I've got good news for you people though! I've finished this fic! I've even written a long epilogue for you! Just one more chapter and the epilogue to go! So hopefully the whole thing should be up by the end of my summer hols (Sept 3rd). If it isn't, it'll be up very soon after that.

Hannah


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

**Chapter Twenty-six: Unanswered Questions**

"Are you sure it's them?" Kel asked. She knew the answer already, only the Chosen Warriors sailed boats with red sails, and only their command colour was red. The lone man on deck, the Prince, wore the uniform of the Emperor's Chosen Warriors.

Neal cleared his throat. "It's definitely them," he replied. Riding on her right, he was more than happy to turn to face her rather than the ominous fleet that would the death of them all.

Kel swallowed. This was it. She was going to order her men into a battle that none of them would come out of. She glanced to the cove where she could see Sofia lying in the sand. Sofia glanced up, and seeing Kel's glance, she smiled encouragingly. It's easy enough for her to smile, Kel thought in an uncharacteristically angry thought. She'll live to see dawn tomorrow, we won't. Tomorrow, the dawn rays would be shining down upon the bodies of the first casualties of the war with the Yamani Islands and the Warriors who killed them would be advancing inland, reaping havoc and destruction as they went.

"Right, to your places men! Don't let them near the town!" she yelled, sounding a lot more confident than she felt. She crouched low of Hoshi's mane and rode hard for the hills with her men trailing behind her.

She saw Neal come up beside her. "Mithros be with you Kel," he said gently to her and at that moment he reminded Kel of his cousin. She swallowed and tried to ignore the sadness that welled up inside her as she remembered that she would never see Dom again.

"And with you Neal. Make sure you come out alive, or Yuki'll have my head," she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"What about Dom having mine?" Neal retorted and Kel wished that he hadn't said that. She didn't need the distractions now. Although she would die, she wanted to die having killed as many of the enemy as possible, even if that did mean killing acquaintances.

* * *

There was something hauntingly familiar about the scenery that now faced him. Mist rolled towards hills that were scattered with odd pockets of trees. He could just see a village to his left, it was very rustic and would make an easy target. His men had orders to kill anyone and everything that moved. Spare no one, the Emperor had said in his commanding tones.

"Where have I seen this before?" Ednar asked himself out loud. There was no one on the deck to see him, the Crown Prince, talking to himself. Suddenly he was back in the cold, hard room of the Tribulation. He felt his _targita_ slipping out of his hands, just as it had done in the Tribulation, the arrow thudded into his back and then he saw Kel's serene face, a face that he had seen her wearing many times when they fought side-by-side. He was aware of the blade slicing through the air towards his neck and his fought to keep his eyes open, he wouldn't want to be found with his eyes closed, only cowards closed their eyes to death.

Taking a deep breath, he shouted out a command in quick Yamani and soon all fourteen boats came to a halt about a hundred metres from the cove where they would land. Looking around him, he glanced the black head of a woman laying in the sand, no doubt an ambush.

He ran below deck and found the ship's captain.

"Where's your son?" he demanded of him.

The Captain looked proud that Ednar was asking where his son was, maybe the Crown Prince had a use for him. "In the kitchens, your Highness. No doubt he is pilfering food like always."

Ednar nodded. "Thank-you. I've got a scouting mission for your son." With that, he jogged towards the kitchens, slowing to a brisk walk whenever he saw anyone; it would not do to have them see the Crown Prince running.

The Captain's son was a young, wiry child, no doubt a thief, but he had the grace of a cat and it was evident in everything he did. Plenty of times the child had slipped into the room whilst Ednar was with friends and no one had noticed until they turned around to look where he happened to be standing, by chance.

"You, boy," Ednar yelled to him, and the child turned around, a fresh bun in his mouth and quickly fell to his knees as a commoner should. "Stand," Ednar ordered and the boy did just that. "You shall take a small boat out to the land and scout around in woods to tell me if there is anyone hiding in there. If there is, look to see who is in charge of the men there."

The child nodded and ran to do his Prince's bidding immediately. Unlike his father, he didn't feel proud to be working for the Prince, it was just something that he had to do. The Captain hadn't quite instilled patriotism into his young tearaway son, not quite yet, but the child was sure to get plenty of beatings when they got home to instil such patriotism.

Ednar watched as the child readied a boat with speed that suggested he didn't only sail with his father, as was the Yamani law. He, the Crown Prince, would have to suggest to the Emperor that they employed more young children, because as he watched the child landing and carefully working his way across the beach, he realised that young children would make the perfect spies in hostile countries. After all, who would suspect a child?

When the child came back, Ednar was playing cards with Mykkael and Tor'aro. Both were his age and spent their days guarding the Crown Prince. Tor'aro was a distant cousin of Ednar and Mykkael was a year mate, a man he had never got along with until he had no choice to. Mykkael didn't believe that women could fight, and Ednar's friendship with Kel had meant that barriers were placed between Ednar and Mykkael, but now, in light of Kel's treachery, they had become firm friends.

The child said nothing as he slipped into the room; it wasn't his place to talk to any of the three in the room. Unless one of them questioned him, he couldn't talk to them. Instead he sank to his knees with his head touching the floor.

"What did you find?" Mykkael growled to the child. His eyes were what set him apart from other Yamanis, and they had become the bane of his life. They showed his true heritage, for Mykkael wasn't pure Yamani, he was the result of his mother's indiscreet behaviour with a Scanran slave. Mykkael had blue eyes, very pale blue eyes.

"There are troops hidin' in the woods, I counted as many as I could, but I can't count past thirty. There's probably about twice that many. There seem t'be two leaders. A man who sparkled with green magic. He was tall with brown hair an' like the rest wore blue and silver. An' then there was a woman! She was that Lady Kel, the traitor," he reported, raising his head only slightly. When Mykkael dismissed him on behalf of the Crown Prince, he scuttled out of the room, glad to be away from the people who could have him killed for the slightest mistake.

Mykkael and Tor'aro fell silent as the Crown Prince did. If their master didn't want to speak, then they wouldn't.

Ednar sat blankly, wondering what to make of the new information. He knew that the Tribulation had shown him Kel fighting his country so he would do something about…

Mykkael was startled as Ednar suddenly jumped up. Tor'aro wasn't however, he had known the Prince since the day he was born and was the only person, apart from the Emperor, who Ednar would listen to.

"Get me a small boat," Ednar ordered of Mykkael. "It needs to be just big enough to fit the three of us in." When Mykkael left to find the boat, Ednar turned to Tor'aro. "Find me a white, surrender flag," he told him with his teeth gritted.

Tor'aro raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure that's wise, Ed?" he asked, using a childhood nickname. "We can easily beat them."

Ednar sighed and dropped his head into his hands. In a muffled voice he explained how he had interpreted his Tribulation wrongly, and how it had resulted in the death of some of the most famous people in the Isles.

Tor'aro studied Ednar carefully. In many ways, Ednar would make the perfect Emperor when the time came, but he had a lot to learn to get there. And one of those lessons he had to learn was to give up any emotions he might have for his subjects. Tor'aro knew more than Ednar thought he knew, and one of those things was the short relationship that Ednar had had with Kel about four years ago. "You shouldn't do this," Tor'aro told the Prince quietly. "She isn't the woman you knew, she's a traitor, she and her country deserve everything that's coming."

Ednar looked up and he wondered why he was surprised that Tor'aro had placed his finger exactly on what was troubling him. His cousin had an uncanny ability to do that. Slowly, Ednar shook his head. "No, I think she is the same woman I knew. And we're surrendering."

Tor'aro sighed, ruffled Ednar's black hair and walked out of the room to find the flag that the young Prince had asked for. He sighed, the Prince would learn. The three of them would be slaughtered as they walked to shore, after all, if the traitor could try to kill her old Warrior Lord, Tait, she could easily kill the Prince and all who were with him. The traitor was cold, she had no emotions. She didn't hide them, she just didn't have any.

Minutes later, Tor'aro was trying to explain to angry Warriors what was going on. They were in an uproar, all wanted to kill the Tortallan scum.

"Fight if you want," Ednar yelled to them from the small boat. "But it will be dishonourable!"

The Warriors fell quiet, none wanted to risk their honour and they slowly dispersed back to their cabins where they started to put their weapons away.

* * *

"A surrender flag!" one of Neal's men said slowly and quietly. "A surrender flag!"

Kel looked at the man. "A what?" she asked keeping her voice level. She so badly wanted to believe him, but what were the chances of it?

Edric tapped her on the shoulder. "He's right, you know." He handed her a spyglass and pointed in the general direction of the flag.

Kel inhaled quickly when she saw it. It was flying from a small boat with three people on. She saw Mykkael and gritted her teeth, she studied the stranger on the boat with interest and moved onto the last figure. He was sat with his back to her, lounging against the bow of the small rowing boat, but she would recognise that figure anywhere. He had black, curly hair that was gathered back into a short ponytail. He turned slightly and Kel focussed in on the face. Deeply tanned skin, a large nose and dark orbs for eyes. A lone strand of hair fell into one of his eyes and she remembered showing him how to keep it behind his ears, using clips. "Ednar," she murmured as she handed the spyglass back to Edric.

"Who?" an inquisitive voice asked quietly from her side.

Kel turned to see Neal, and realised that she'd be better keeping the relationship she had had with Ednar to herself. "The Crown Prince," she told him as she mounted Hoshi. "Stay here, I'm going to meet them," she ordered to her men. As she started forwards, Neal followed her. "Neal," Kel hissed. "I'm doing this on my own."

Neal shook his head. "No you're not. I promised both Yuki and Dom that I would keep you safe, although I think Dom knew the promise I gave him would be futile. However, I still did promise that, so that means I'm not letting you go and meet the Crown Prince and his thugs alone."

Kel sighed, she was happy that the three of them, Neal, Yuki and Dom, cared about her enough to look after her, but she didn't really want Neal with her when she confronted the Prince. "Neal, this is something I have to do, and on my own. Ed wouldn't hurt me."

"Ed?" Neal asked with raised eyebrows.

Kel glared at him and resisted the urge to throttle him. "What about him?" she asked sweetly.

Neal grinned, but didn't say what was on the tip of his tongue, that his best friend and the Crown Prince probably had something going a few years back. He was oddly reminded of his old knight-mistress and the current King. He shook his head in answer to Kel's question. "Doesn't matter. But I'm coming with you."

Kel sighed and realised she wouldn't change Neal's mind, so the two of them rode down to the cove to meet the boat.

"So how do you know the Prince?" Neal asked with interest.

"I'm sure you know the story of the time when my mother saved the Imperial Treasures and we became some of the most respected people in the Isles?" When Neal nodded, Kel cleared her throat and continued, "Well, I was introduced to Ednar around that time. He was my age and we got on wonderfully most of the time. When I returned to the Isles to train, he was my year-mate, and I was the only who had the guts to treat him how we had when we were children, in other words, not really paying much attention to his heritage. When other people saw how I treated him, they tried, but failed miserably to treat him like an ordinary person. I was hated a lot of the way through my training because I was the Prince's friend." She didn't add that most hated her when she was a _calawabi_ because she was involved with the Prince. That wouldn't be a wise thing to say to Neal. Whilst he was protective of her, he was also oddly protective of his cousin and if by some miracle they survived this, he would no doubt tell Dom and if he was going to know, Kel wanted it to her that told him, not Neal.

Neal nodded slowly and jumped easily out of the saddle onto the wet sand, then offered a hand to Kel. She stared at him in amazement, then, just to contrary, jumped the opposite way out of the saddle.

"I am perfectly capable of getting out of the saddle myself," Kel informed him as she looked around for a rock to sit on.

They sat together and watched as the small boat was hauled up to the dryer sand by Mykkael and the stranger. Whilst the two of them strained to pull the boat through the wet sand, Ednar sat almost pompously in the boat and let them pull him.

Neal watched as Kel smiled slightly at the sight, it was obviously something she was used to. She stood and walked over to the boat. Neal watched with interest as she acknowledged the blue-eyed man with an icy nod and the tall, slightly older man with a half-bow. Then, from his seat on the rock, he watched as she turned to Ednar. He could easily see the indecision in her eyes and then she bowed low, Tortallan style. The Prince smiled, hopped easily out of the boat and spoke to her briefly in Yamani. Kel returned to a straight standing position and looked slightly surprised as she was pulled into a tight hug.

Together they walked to where Neal was sitting, the two men trailing behind them. Neal jumped up and bowed. "Your Highness," he said politely in common.

"This is Sir Nealan of Queenscove," Kel told Ednar in common.

"A friend?" Ednar asked in the same language, presumably for Neal's benefit.

Kel obviously caught hidden undertones that Neal hadn't found in the heavy Yamani accent. "Only. As I'm sure your spies have told you, I've got someone else, just like you have."

That confirmed it for Neal.

Ednar smiled ruefully and said something briefly in Yamani, causing Kel to laugh. Then he shook his head. "My manners are slipping, Sir Nealan, you must forgive me. I have not yet introduced my friends." He turned to the two men standing behind him. "This is Warrior Mykkael and Warrior Tor'aro, also a relative. Mykkael, Tor'aro, this is Sir Nealan of Queenscove and Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan."

The two men glared at her, and Kel only smiled back. Neal could see partly why she had made so many enemies in the Isles, she was capably of being perfectly contrary if she felt like it.

"To be blunt, I am a little surprised at the amount of warmth in your greetings," Tor'aro scolded the Prince. "_She_ is a traitor and he is no better than scum."

Ednar turned and glared at Tor'aro. "This is my business, cousin. Keep your nose out of it." His voice was angry and softened as soon as he turned back to Kel. "I'm am sorry for Tor'aro's words, I'm sure he didn't mean them."

"And I'm sure he did," Kel replied. "But that doesn't bother me." She sat down on the rocks and gestured for everyone else to do the same. Glancing up to the cliffs, she could see some of her men had disobeyed her orders. They were laying in the long grasses with crossbows trained on the Prince and his men. She gave the man in the middle a wry smile, she knew that it was Edric. Who else would have the gall to disobey her so he could ensure her safety? She swallowed and turned to the Prince. "I'm sure that you didn't come all the way here, barely armed to talk about trivial matters."

"You're like your father," Ednar said softly, and Kel stiffened. How dare he bring her father into this? Whilst she was glad to see him again, and glad that they may have the chance to sort out the war, she couldn't forget that it was he who had been responsible for her father's death.

"Leave him out of it!" she snapped, her hazel eyes blazing and Ednar was obviously slightly put out to see such emotion in her face and Kel realised this and with some difficulty returned her face to its normal, calm, serene features.

Ednar nodded. "Very well. I've no idea how to start, as I don't recall having ever done this before, but I'd like to apologise for having men board your boat and try to kill you and your family. I know that saying sorry is no good, but at least I can say I've tried. And I am very sorry, horribly sorry."

Kel stared at him, not really taken in by his words. When, in the past, they had fought, he had always begged and pleaded, using smooth language, like he was now, to get his own way and to get Kel to forgive him. Now though, she was beginning to wonder whether he really meant it.

"I – I would like to offer you the chance to complete your Tribulation, as I now realise what I did wrong." He went on to explain exactly what Myles had told her and how he had found out too late. "I really am sorry."

Kel swallowed. "I can't. I…" she trailed off and when Neal placed a hand on her shoulder, she smiled at him and continued, "I can't. There is no way I can fight for a country that wants me dead." She held up her hand to stop Ednar's protestations. "You may not want me dead, but the rest of your country probably does. The Yamani Isles had my father killed, my mother and Warrior Lord are still missing. If I killed your friends, you'd find it hard to forgive me too."

Ednar sighed. "I know, but…I don't really want there to be a war. I don't want to go around killing your friends, people you know! And I'm sure that you don't want to fight and kill people you knew. Can't we at least try to negotiate?"

Kel smiled. "Now there's something that we both understand. Negotiation. Mind you, that could be quite difficult."

Neal watched as Ednar smiled awkwardly. "Yes, it could. But, I'd like to give it a try. Please?"

Kel nodded. "So would I. Only, I have no negotiation powers. I can't promise or barter until I get word from my King, and besides, who even says my King would want to negotiate?"

"He would," Neal said, speaking up. "You know he didn't want a war, especially not when we had been so close to securing a peace treaty with the Isles."

Kel nodded. "You're right." She turned to Ednar. "I think you should go home, discuss this with your father and get word to us when _he_ has decided what he wants to do. You at least need to explain to him what your Tribulation was really showing him."

Ednar paled visibly, and Kel realised he was scared of admitting he had made a mistake to his father. "I suppose I should," he said, his voice was level and he was controlling his emotions perfectly now. He bowed to Neal and smiled at Kel. It looked like he was going to hug her again, but he settled for shaking her hand. "I shall see you soon, whether it be in battle or negotiations."

Kel nodded and said something briefly in Yamani, causing Ednar to smile awkwardly and blush slightly.

As the three Yamanis made their way to the boat and pushed it into the water, Neal asked, "What did you say to him?"

Kel smiled. "I wished him better luck in his current relationship than he had in…previous ones."

Neal grinned. "You are see-through. You meant in yours."

Kel glared at him. "You tell Dom, and you'll find a glaive coming your way very soon!"

Neal regarded her with a slightly strange suspicion. "So you aren't going to tell him?"

Kel shrugged. "When I tell him, it needs to come from me, not you."

Neal sighed. "I just think that Dom should know, but…I'll leave it to you."

Kel smiled. "Thanks." Then she turned to watch Ednar and his bodyguards. They were clambering into the boat. Ednar turned to her and held a hand up in a wave. "Ed!" Kel yelled, her voice sounding suddenly urgent. "Ed!" He looked towards her curiously. "What happened to my mother and Jamil?"

The Crown Prince turned away, ignoring her question.

* * *

**A/N:** Now isn't Ednar mean? I think I might start 'We Hate Ednar' club, even though he's one of my favourite characters to write. Ah well. ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO!!! 

Actually, I've a favour to ask of all you lovely reviewers/ If you know of any slightly unusual PotS pairings (i.e. Kel/Roald, Kel/Seaver, Kel/Faleron), could you let me know? Also, if anyone knows of any Kel/Thom or Kel/Lerant fics, please let me know, at the moment, they're two of my favourite pairings. 

Hannah


	28. Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, apart from the characters that I invented for the purpose of this fic. I'll just list the ones that appear in this chapter. So, I own: Jerrad, Edvar, Lady Jalia of Queensview and the very quiet Lady Cynthia of Eagle's Tower. Not very many!

****

**Epilogue**

She smiled contentedly and lent her head on his shoulders. "It's beautiful," she commented as they watched the sun setting over the water and casting shadows through Port Caynn where she and Dom sat, feet dangled in the water at the end of an enjoyably busy day. "You know, if I had to live somewhere, I think it would be here."

"Oh?" Dom asked as he gave up studying the sunset in favour of something that he thought was much better.

"Don't look at me like that!" Kel protested at his intense stare. When he grinned and stroked her cheek, she answered his question. "Yeah, I'd like to live here. The view is wonderful and the market is great. There is a constant stream of people from different cultures and backgrounds. It's just…amazing."

Dom laughed. "Are you sure you'd like it day after day? Surely it would get boring after a while. Wouldn't you rather live in Corus and come here for the odd day out?"

Kel tilted her head on one side. "Maybe."

"After all, I'm in Corus," Dom said cheekily, causing Kel to laugh.

She stood and pulled Dom up. "Let's go get a meal. I feel like I haven't eaten in ages."

"You haven't," Dom replied dryly. "I suggested we stop for a meal, but you were too busy shopping."

Kel shrugged and they started to walk, making their way slowly to the street that they had wandered down earlier in the day, the one with all the eating houses in it.

"This one?" Dom asked, gesturing to the first house they came to.

Kel nodded. "Whatever, as long as serves edible food, I'll be happy." She let Dom take her hand and pull her through the low door.

"Mind your head," a man shouted, and they both ducked, narrowly avoiding the low wooden beam. "Good evenin', my Lord, my Lady." The man bowed low as he walked to meet them.

Kel flashed a warm smile at him as she looked around. They were the only people in the place; at this time of day, most of the trade would have migrated to the inns and taverns that were situated along the sea front. The house seemed to be only one room, with a stair case at the back. The room was decorated simply, with white walls and low beams. A large board proclaimed the day's specials and another held the ordinary menu.

"Evening," Dom replied as he pulled out a seat for Kel.

"Drinks before you order?" the man asked. "We sell some of the finest ale in the street, or if you prefer wine, we've got plenty of that too."

Kel shook her head. "I prefer not to drink. Just fruit juice, if you've got it, otherwise just water."

Dom sighed. "As much as I'm tempted, I shouldn't. Kel and I have got…" he turned to look at Kel then changed what he was going to say. "I need a clear head."

Kel studied him carefully and as the man left to get the drinks, she asked, "What are you hiding?"

"Hiding?" Dom questioned innocently.

"Dom, you're a hopeless liar!"

Dom shrugged. "A surprise. You'll like, I promise."

"I don't like surprises," Kel stated flatly.

Dom grinned and reached for hand. "You'll like this one, I know you will. Even Meathead says you will."

"Neal's in on this?" Kel asked with a hint of caution in her voice. "That doesn't sound good."

"Don't worry, nothing horrible. You'll love it."

"Why don't you just tell me and I'll decide whether I like it?" Kel asked. She thanked the bartender as he brought them their drinks and ordered some soup.

When the man had bustled off, Dom shook his head. He wore a large grin on his face and his eyes glinted with mischief. He looked oddly proud of himself. "That would spoil the fun," he replied and changed the subject completely.

About half way through the evening, Kel and Dom were startled from their meals at the sound of a loud yelp. Kel turned to see a tall man rubbing his head and glaring at the low beam at the door.

"Bloody beam," Kel heard him hiss and then he walked further into the room with another man and two women. Both men looked alike with brown wavy hair and bright blue eyes from which radiated mischief. One wore the clothes of a port guard and the other of the Provost's Army. The women hung onto the men's arms and were well made up with face paints, the perfect lady.

"Dom!" the man in the Provost's uniform cried with delight and Dom cursed then turned around.

"What's the matter?" Kel hissed to him as the foursome approached them.

"I wanted you to myself," he whispered back as he stood. "Jerrad, how nice to see you."

"My, aren't we formal!"

Dom smiled. "I guess my job could do that to you." Then, as manners dictated, he gestured to the spare chairs at their table. "Please, sit down."

"Don't mind if we do," the port guard said as he pulled out a chair for his lady and then sat himself.

Dom turned to Kel. "These are my younger brothers," he informed her. "That one is Jerrad." He pointed to the man wearing the Provost's uniform. "And Edvar works at the port, guarding it against pirates and raiders."

"I was stationed at Blue Harbour," Edvar told Kel. "I saw the raiders burn the place to the ground, even fought a few."

"So did we," Kel replied with a worried glance at Dom. He was gritting his teeth and his grip on her hand got tighter. "But I'd rather we left that topic alone."

Dom shot her a grateful glance that wasn't missed by Jerrad. He raised an eyebrow and said, "I don't believe you've introduced us to your lady."

"This is Kel," Dom told them. "And your ladies are?"

"Lady Cynthia of Eagle's Tower and Lady Jalia of Queensview," Jerrad replied.

"Lady Aria's sister?" Kel asked, remembering the lady that Thom had been infatuated with a year ago.

Lady Jalia raised a delicate eyebrow. "Yes. Do you know her?"

Kel shook her head. "No, but a friend of mine does."

"And who is this friend?"

"Thom of Pirate's Swoop," Kel replied. Dom laughed, knowing exactly how Thom knew Lady Aria.

"Ah," Lady Jalia replied with an air of distaste in her voice. "Him."

Kel glared at the lady and clenched her fists. "Dom, I believe I shall go and get myself another drink," she said tightly and stood up with such force that her chair fell back.

As she was talking with the bartender, Dom sighed and let his head drop into his hands. "Great," he murmured. "Just great!"

"What's great?" Edvar asked curiously.

Dom raised his head. "I've got a surprise planned for her for later, and now she'll be in a bad mood because your lady insulted her friend."

"Could this surprise have anything to do with the reason we ran into our dear cousin and his old knight-mistress in an eating house this lunch time?"

Dom nodded. "Don't tell Kel he's here."

Kel returned, and now she had her Yamani mask firmly in place. She looked blandly at Jalia and then continued to eat her soup.

"So…" Jerrad said slowly after the bartender had taken their order. "You didn't tell us exactly _who_ your lady is, Dom."

"He told you my name," Kel replied. For the first time in her life, she was scared of what people might think of her. These people were part of Dom's family and she wanted to make a good impression on them, but when their ladies accompanied them, she doubted she would. As soon as she and Dom left them, the ladies would start to poison Jerrad and Edvar against her.

Dom gave her a bemused look, and Kel sighed. "Keladry of Mindelan," she replied.

"No 'lady' in front of your name?" Edvar asked. "You are modest."

Kel shook her head. "I'm no lady."

"No, a Lady Knight, just not a lady," Dom added with a wide grin at Kel and she returned it shakily. She had been trying to leave her full title out of it, hoping that they wouldn't realise who she really was.

"You're the woman who met with that filthy Yamani savage and started off the new peace negotiations!" Lady Jalia exclaimed.

"My Lady, you seem to like insulting my friends. Is this something you usually do when you meet someone new, or is this treatment reserved for me only?" Kel asked with only the slightest hint of the anger she felt.

"Friend?" Lady Jalia asked with contempt. "I wouldn't think he was capable of being friendly. Did you see what they did at Blue Harbour?"

Kel breathed deeply and glanced again at Dom. He'd closed his eyes and was tensing up. Leaning over to him, she whispered in his ear, "Go and get yourself a drink or something, I'll deal with this."

He sighed. "Thanks," he replied and kissed her head then wandered slowly over to the bar.

Kel turned on the lady. "I would appreciate it if you didn't mention Blue Harbour again," she said icily. "Neither Dom or I had particularly nice experiences there and we try not to think about it. I would also appreciate it if you could stop referring to the Yamanis as savages, Ed is my friend." Her words were ever so polite, but no one at the table could mistake that she meant exactly what she said.

"You were friends with the Crown Prince?" Jerrad asked with interest. "What was he like?"

Kel relaxed. The question didn't sound like it was designed to trap her into saying something and Jerrad seemed like a nice man. "He used to love playing jokes, his father's advisors were forever running around trying to soothe the people offended by them. There was a group of us, Ed, myself, a lad called Salin and my best friend, Ked. We always used to get into so much trouble because of Ed. I lost count of how many hours I spent running up and down mountains as punishment." She told him about one of Ed's favourite jokes to play and by then, Dom was back again.

"Are you still friends with him?" Jerrad asked, ignoring his brother's return.

Kel shrugged. "We had a…argument before I left for Tortall to guard the Princess. When I returned to fight off the immortals, we sorted it out and then I left again and he tried to kill me." She grinned at Jerrad. "He writes to me occasionally and on his request I'll be going to the Islands sometime next year to finalise the peace treaty."

"You mentioned someone called Ked? Are you still friends with him, or did the war – albeit a very brief one – cause problems?" Jerrad asked as he ate his fish.

"You are nosy," Dom drawled, trying to prevent that line of questioning.

Jerrad shrugged. "What else is there to talk about? Besides, I want to know more about this lady of yours. She's different to most people."

Dom raised his eyebrows.

"He's dead," Kel replied in answer to Jerrad's questions. "So is Salin. Could you please stop questioning me about my friends?"

Jerrad looked dumbstruck and slightly guilty to have intruded, and nodded.

Dom took up the conversation and asked his brothers about their work and Kel ate in silence.

When the port bell tolled eight times over the city, Dom's eyes widened. Hastily he got up and paid for his and Kel's meal then grabbed her hand. "My surprise," he said quickly. "If we don't hurry, we might miss it."

Shrugging, Kel gathered her cloak and sword then followed Dom out of the house. He ran down the streets, pulling Kel with him. They ran hand-in-hand down the torch-lit winding streets until they reached one of the more respectable ports. As Dom pulled her past all the buildings, Kel thought she saw two figures in the shadows, but had no time to look back as Dom ran down the wharf to the very end.

"Good, we're in time." He sounded out of breath, but pleased with himself.

"What's going on?" Kel asked suspiciously as she looked around. The port was deserted apart from a few guards patrolling. One of the guards approached them, presumably to ask what they were doing there, but then he seemed to catch a glance of Dom's face and whom he was with and turned back to continue his circuit. A few boats were anchored at other wharves, but there was no one onboard. The full moon shone down on the water and Kel could see her reflection in it.

"Just wait," Dom replied, pulling her so she stood in front of him and wrapped his arms around her waist. Resting his chin on her head, he pointed out the constellation of the Mother Goddess, or rather, the Cat.

When he had finished, Kel twisted around so she was held closely to him and turned her face up for a kiss. Grinning he bent down and was about to kiss her when he suddenly glanced over to the shadows. He sighed and kissed her quickly on the cheek.

Kel tried to twist around him to see what was in the shadows. She had thought she had seen someone there earlier, and now Dom had looked over there. He was a private person and preferred to keep his affections fairly private, was there someone there?

"Who's there?" Kel asked Dom as she gestured to the shadows.

He smiled and shook his head. Then his eyes widened as he saw something. Turning Kel around to face the water, he pointed to a boat on the horizon. "Look," he whispered in her ear.

"Yes, it's a boat. They have boats at ports," Kel replied and Dom just laughed.

As the boat got nearer, Kel could see a Yamani flag flying high off of the mast and she turned accusingly to Dom. "You knew this was coming!" she hissed.

Dom smiled widely. "Yes, guilty as charged." He raised his arms in mock surrender.

The boat sailed gently to the wharf they were standing by and behind her, Kel felt Dom tense up. "I hope you like my surprise," he muttered.

"You got me a boat?" Kel asked in surprise.

Dom shook his head. "No, what would you do with one of those? The surprise is on the boat."

Kel examined the boat carefully. Although she was no judge of boats, she could tell that it was a miracle that this boat had made it so far. It looked like it could fall apart at any minute. A young man appeared on deck. He wore no shirt and Kel could clearly see tattoos all over his torso. He vaulted over the side of the boat with a coil of rope in his hand. As soon as his feet touched deck, he started running. When he reached the end of the wharf, where the floating decking met the solid stone, he tied the rope to a post. A few more men jumped over the side to join him and together they pulled the boat the few final metres to the wharf. A gangplank was ran from the deck to the decking and two Yamani men appeared at the top and glanced at Kel. Then they disappeared, only to reappear again a few minutes later. This time there was a third person standing in between them and they started down the gangplank. The moon chose that time to hide behind a cloud, and the port fell into darkness and Kel could no longer see the three people approaching her. When the moon's rays came down again, Kel could see that the person in the middle was being supported, almost dragged along. It was a woman. Her white hair reflected the moon's light and she wore the rags of what had once been a fine kimono.

"Mama!" Kel whispered in surprise. Then she broke into a grin. She spun around to face Dom. "Thank-you!" she told him and kissed him firmly.

He laughed. "Ignore me, go see your mother for Mithros' sake!" He shoved her lightly towards the two men and her mother.

As soon as Kel had a hold of her mother, the men hurried back up the gangplank and the men on dock started to untie the boat as it prepared to leave.

"Mama." Kel was surprised to feel tears running down her face as she hugged her mother tight.

"Kel," her mother replied. "I'm home."

"I know you are Mama, I know."

Dom slipped away, into the shadows and allowed mother and daughter time to talk.

"Are you okay?" Kel asked her mother as she drew back from her.

Ilane smiled wearily. "I'm fine," she told her youngest daughter, but Kel wasn't convinced by it. However, she knew than to argue with her mother. "And how are you?"

"I'm great," Kel replied. "Absolutely ecstatic." She sounded it too. To Dom, who was listening in the shadows with his cousin and Alanna, it felt worth the effort it had taken to arrange this. Kel sounded happier than she had in months. "I thought you were dead," she told her mother and at that time, Kel sounded like a little girl again.

"I thought you were dead," Ilane replied. "At least, I did for the first few months and then I heard about the stir you had been creating. You've certainly been busy."

Kel blushed.

"Do you think we could find somewhere to sit?" Ilane asked faintly. "I'm feeling rather tired."

Kel nodded and glanced around, looking for somewhere. Walking slowly out of the shadows, she saw Neal and the short figure of Alanna. Behind them, looking rather sheepish was Dom.

"I thought your mother may need a healer," he explained as the two groups walked towards each other.

Alanna took one look at Ilane and shook her head in disgust. "I can't believe the state the Emperor keeps his prisoners in!" she sighed. She took Ilane's arm and started to lead her away, then she looked back. "You don't mind, do you Kel? Only, she could do with a healing and I've booked her room in an inn for the night."

Dumbly, Kel shook her head and Ilane was walked slowly away with Alanna and Neal holding an arm each. "I can't believe it," she whispered, more to herself than Dom.

"Can't believe what?" Dom asked quietly.

"My mother. I've got my mother back, but…she looks like an old woman. She looks nearly dead!" Kel replied and tried to wipe away her tears.

Dom wiped them away for her. "You're right," he admitted. "She doesn't look too good." He sighed. "Prince Ednar admitted to his father that he had interpreted his Tribulation wrongly, and now the Emperor's pretending that he never attacked your family. When I wrote to the Crown Prince to ask him about your mother, I got a reply from a secretary saying that no such person existed. Then a few days later I received another message from Ednar himself that explaining his father was pretending that the whole thing had never happened and that your mother wasn't on the prison records. It took dozens of letters for her release to be arranged."

Kel gazed at him. "Thank-you so much."

Dom shrugged. "No problem."

Kel laughed weakly. "From what you said, it sounded like quite a problem. When did you write that first letter?"

"The morning after you arrived back at the palace after going to meet the Chosen Warriors on the coast." Dom ran a hand through his hair, hair that Kel now realised he shared with his brothers.

Kel nodded. The morning after she arrived back, she had woken up, expecting to find Dom next to her, but instead he was sitting at her desk, busily writing. When she had asked what he was doing, he had just shaken his head and offered to buy her breakfast in the city. "That was the letter you were writing!"

Dom nodded. "I didn't want you to know what I was doing, just in case I didn't succeed or she was dead. I didn't want to get your hopes up."

"Do my brothers and sisters know?" Kel asked they started to walk slowly back to the inn where they were staying.

Dom shook his head. "No, nothing was definite until yesterday morning, the news came by messenger to the palace and then Neal came with the message here. The message was also delivered to my Lord Raoul, and he is telling your brothers who will tell your sisters. By the time we get back to the palace, the whole of Corus will have heard, you know what gossip is like."

Kel nodded, having been the victim of gossip many times, she knew exactly how fast it would travel.

They waved to the innkeeper who owned the inn where they had been staying for the last few nights and walked up to their rooms. Dom had left Kel at her door and was walking to his room when Kel called him back.

"Dom?" she whispered quietly, trying not to wake the other guests in the corridor.

He turned around and looked questioningly at her. "Yes?"

"What – What happened to Jamil?"

Dom sighed and walked back to her. Opening her bedroom door for her, he led her gently inside. Once they were sitting by the fire, he cleared his throat. "Um…"

"Just tell me," Kel replied in a voice that was unusually quiet for her. "He's dead, isn't he?"

Dom nodded. "Yes, he was hung for treason a few days after you were attacked."

"No trial?" Kel asked, more of herself than Dom. "But then again, I hardly expected one. The Emperor isn't exactly fair."

Dom shook his head. "No, he isn't." He looked around Kel's room. "Will you be okay on your own?"

Kel nodded. "I'll be fine, I promise. I just some time to…think."

* * *

Lachran grinned widely as he saw Dom leaning against the practise courts; that meant he and Kel were finally back from their little holiday in Port Caynn. Lachran had teased Kel no end about Dom, who in turn had retaliated and trounced him time and again with her sword.

"Dom!" Lachran called as he and the other pages made there way for the start of morning lessons.

Dom spun around and his eyes searched the crowds until they settled on Lachran. "Lach," he greeted back, using Kel's nickname for her nephew. "I need a word."

Lachran stopped in his tracks. "What's happened to Auntie Kel this time?" he asked bluntly.

"In private," Dom replied, with a glance to the training master, who nodded.

Slightly shakily, Lachran walked away from the practise courts to the relative privacy of archery courts. "What has she done this time?" Lachran asked, fully prepared for the worst.

Dom shrugged. "No idea, that's the problem. She just – left."

"Left?" Lachran asked in amazement. "She hasn't tried to get herself killed or rode off to fight hoards of stick wielding Yamanis?"

Dom shook his head. "No. We were in Port Caynn, the night before we were meant to come home. We'd just met your grandmother off of the boat and we went back to the inn. When I called on her in the morning, she was gone."

"She just left? Just like that?" Lachran asked, a hint of worry creeping into his voice. "That's not like her."

"She left a note," Dom replied. "Said she'd be back soon, not worry, there was just something she had to do." He sighed. "I tracked her as far as the port. She booked herself passage on a merchant ship to the Isles which left late the night before I discovered her missing."

"Not to worry?" Lachran yelled, causing some stares from the pages practising Shang drills. "When she gets back, I'm going to have some serious words with her, I don't care if she's older than me!"

Dom smiled slightly. "You'll have to stand in line behind the other people. There are plenty of people, including myself and my cousin who want a word with her when she gets back."

Lachran sighed. "Tell me when – or if – you hear from her."

Dom nodded. "Of course. I'll be seeing you then."

Lachran nodded and slowly walked back towards the practise courts.

* * *

A few months later, he saw Jak wince as their blades clashed noisily and fought hard to keep the pain he felt out of his face. Dom jumped away just in time to miss a stab at his stomach. They fought on, and a clumsy mistake allowed Jak to thrust his sword into the 'kill' position.

Dom grinned and stood back, allowing Ana to come in and fight the victor, Jak. Running a hand through his brown hair, he went to sit on the fence next to Farant.

"That mistake was a beginners mistake," Farant said slyly.

Dom shrugged.

"It seemed rather fake to me. Why did you let him win?"

"I didn't let him win. Why would I do that?" Dom drawled, fake innocence deep in his voice. He knew he let Jak win and Farant knew he let Jak win. Dom glanced over to where the newest Rider recruit was leaning on the fence. She wasn't pretty in the court sense of the word, but there was something about her that seemed to fascinate Jak.

"You let him win so he could impress Reida?" Farant asked as he caught Dom's glance.

"I told you," Dom sighed with mock frustration. "I didn't let him win!"

Farant laughed. "So when your lady gets back, do you want me to 'not let you win' as well?"

"_If_ she gets back," Dom corrected Farant. "Even if she does get back in one piece, there are so many people who want 'a word' with her for running off, people like her brothers, Lachran, Neal, even myself, I don't think she'll stay in one piece for very long."

Farant grinned. "I think she can look after herself." He hopped down and took Jak's place opposite Ana.

"Go Farant!" Lora yelled from where she was challenging Saul.

Dom laughed as Ana glared at Lora, "Do you want to keep your head?" she demanded as she swiftly sent her commander's blade flying through the air. "Shall I duel you next?"

Lora shrugged. "Just make it quick and painless please."

"Oh no," Ana replied, her green eyes flashing with mirth. "It shall be as long and drawn out as possible."

The clatter of horse's hooves was nothing unusual in the practise yards, many people took their horses out to exercise, or even to joust. However, it was the voices that accompanied the hooves, a man and a woman's voice in fluent Yamani that caused Dom to turn around.

Kel was dismounting from Hoshi. She was dressed in Yamani fashion with a red and gold kimono and light orange obi. Her sword hung in the folds of the light silk and she carried a fine glaive. It wasn't her usual battle worn one, this one had been polished until it shone. Her hair was gathered back from her face in the same style the men wore, short braids with colourful beads on the end. All her braids were pulled back into a large clip in the shape of a sword. Her skin had become tanned again by the time she had spent in the Yamani Islands. She looked almost like she had when Dom first saw her, only her hair was a different length and Hoshi carried her shield. The man accompanying her was dressed in a vaguely Tortallan style; dark red hose and a long, armless tunic that was orange at the bottom and faded to a pale yellow by the time it reached the top. His dark eyes studied everything around him carefully. His skin was deeply tanned and his nose was slightly too large for his face to be declared perfect. Black curly hair chose that moment to fall out of its tie and he laughed, showing white teeth. Dom tried not to turn green with envy as Kel laughed and picked the tie up off of the floor and gently tied it back. Three men clattered into the courtyard behind him and it was only then that Dom thought to check the horse that the man rode. Hanging from the saddlebags was the symbol that represented the Yamani Imperial House. This was the infamous Ednar. Dom was intrigued to finally meet the man he had written to dozens of times when he was trying to secure Ilane's release.

Kel looked around, seemingly searching for someone. Her eyes lit up when she saw Dom, and she with a slightly cheeky grin she bowed to him. She said something in Yamani to Ednar and then walked slowly to meet him. Dom just stood there, watching her walk towards him.

"Aren't you glad to see me?" she teased when she stood a few metres from him.

Dom grinned and shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not."

Kel smiled it slightly, it seemed her time in Islands had brought her Yamani mask again, though not quite as firmly as before. "Well, I'm glad to see you. But I've got someone to introduce you to. Although, you already know him."

Dom grinned. "The Prince?"

Kel nodded and grabbed his hand. "Come on." She led him to where the Prince was standing, talking with his three bodyguards. "Ed," Kel called, and the Prince stopped talking immediately.

Ednar smiled warmly as he turned around to see Dom. "It's good to finally meet you," he replied in common. His grasp of the language was a lot better then Neal had described. He bowed to Dom, who bowed back and then shook his hand.

"Dom, this is the Crown Prince, Warrior Ednar of the Yamani Imperial House. Ed, this is Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle, Third Company of the King's Own. He is the cousin of the man who you met on the beach."

Ednar grinned. "I remember him."

Dom chuckled slightly. A lot of people remembered Neal, and not always for good reasons. He turned to Kel. "So what did you have to do?" he asked her with a slight edge to his voice. "There are many people who were very annoyed when you left. Neal ranted for nearly an hour and made up some quite inventive ways of getting the point across to you."

Kel sighed. "I'm sorry," she told him. "I just wanted to make sure that Jamil was buried in an appropriate fashion. I couldn't stand the idea of him lying in an unnamed grave in Traitor's Yard so that people could come by and spit where he was buried. I hadn't anticipated it taking a few months. I'd thought that I would be there for a week at the most, but I'd forgotten just how thorough the Emperor can be when he wants to pretend that someone doesn't exist."

"No one caused you any problems, did they?" Dom asked, suddenly worried.

Kel shook her head. "Not really. The ordinary folk can see through the Emperor when he says something never happened. They knew the truth about what happened and on the whole didn't give me too much trouble."

"She lived in the finest way possible in the best guest rooms at the palace," Ednar told Dom.

Kel smiled and nodded. "Everything I'm wearing is a gift from Ed, including this new glaive."

"And to thank me, she insisted on giving me a match. She won."

Dom laughed at Ednar's face. He was pretending to be upset, pulling a child's pout. For a Yamani, he was fairly free with his emotions. "Don't worry, she used to do that to me everyday. I just refuse to face her with a pole arm anymore. We do swords, so that I can beat her."

"That sounds wise," Ednar commented. "I shall have to try that."

"Shall we go see the King before you two finish scheming?" Kel asked.

"See the King?" Dom asked in surprise. "Whatever for?"

"Dom, Ednar is here to finalise the details of the peace treaty. The Emperor decided that seeing as Ednar was escorting me back here, the details may as well be finalised. However, King Jonathan doesn't even know Ed's here."

"Oh," Dom replied in surprise. "Alright, let's go see the King." He wrapped firm arm around Kel's waist and smiled to her. "It is good to have you home."

* * *

**A/N:** Well, that's it, all 161 pages of it. I honestly can't believe I wrote that much. I mean…I started this thing and never expected to finish it, but guess what? I did! And now, for the thank-yous (I'm sorry I haven't done this before, but seeing as it is the last chapter, I thought I should). So, a mega THANK-YOU to everyone who reviewed. That is…

**Aznchiki****, Lady Genevieve, Kylia Skydancer, Katana-hime, Wake-Robin, Tanydwr, Mango Sam, Dais, Dreamerdoll, Ossini, Shannon-of-tameron, Lady of lisbond, Soccerchick-08, Vi3t BaBiI, Miliko01, Emaleneangel, AJ 4EVA, Alenor, Rootless claifornian, Allimba, Escawing, VanillaChocolate, Emikae, Quick to read, Oceanspike, t-d, misk, imogenhm, Lixt66, Yamani, Redragon6662, Gwen of Helmsgrove, Tim Lin, Kassi of Stone Mountain, Steph lady, Iluvdom, Lizai, Angelique of mystique, Waterdaancer15, Lady Aioria, FBluvr, Basest-8, Rubber Duck, Norrie, Belleartiste, Kelly Masbolle, Milky way bar, Night-Owl123, Kitten daggers, Tris the weatherwitch, Sir Lady Alanna Cooper, Doe, Quent jamsen, Treanz-alyce, SaNgUiNe SiStaR, Shayley Rain, Sorrel Rowan, Smart1, Bella, MistyFox14, SaKuRa-Mina, Tiffie101, Enchantress Sun, White-wolf2, Shinadagami, Ookami Kage, Figil, Blue Roses2, NikiamysticQUEENSofFIRE, Silver Hopes, Stef Sp8, , MoonStar, QueenofConnaught, Sailacel, Kris, Ayeka Penor, Lady Knight Meg, Tears Washed Away, Mademoiselle Parfait, Queenofdiamonds1, Angel of Wind, Solar Fox, Emrisah, S.Tina, Snakefeather, DragonDaine, Linlen, Ryoko.Kilala, Kateydidnt, DaughterofDeath, Hello, Sw33t t3mtations, Anonymous, An anonymous geek, KatFay, Monsoon – Tiger of the Dr, Ladybug Jess, Dark Miko, ShnazzrySpazzy, Dupdeedub, Geminia, Ash Night8, Mage Gurl05, Devilz child, Karina, Angelo dell'inferno, Aria-nera, LoniGirl, Queerquail, White Lizard, Wow, Clare, Lady Taliana, Ti-Ti, Jazy716, , [blank], Emerald eyes22, Keledrena, Wildchartermage, Zella, Random person, Midnight Knight, Amanda, Jakalaki, Silver Goddess1, Rowana Silvakisma, Lemon Parade, Nazzy Nazzy Nazgirl, Yami no Tsuki, Crazyfanfictionfanatic, Exiledrose, Laura, Truffletruffle01, warrior of Tortall, Levaire.**

**Also, thank-you to the peeps below who asked questions who I felt needed answering:**

**TheRogueAuthor** _(Thanks! What colour is he then?)_

**Kylia**** Skydancer** _(Thanks, I've tried to improve it, but when I do the final final re-draft, I'll sort that out. Do you mean people like Lord Raoul and Jon?)_

**Dreamerdoll** _(yeah, I had problems with Alan, he seemed very Gary Stu to me, but I was having trouble making him un-Gary Stu)_

**White Lizard** _(Trebond was given to Rispah and Coram, so Alan is their son.)_

**Helsuzaba**_(Thanks, I'll correct those mistakes in the final final draft (which may be a while coming))_

**UniMyth** _(Yes, another bassoonist!__ Commander Farant is sort of a vague thing, he could be the same commander, he may not be. Even I don't know.)_

**Harry-Ginnyfan4ever** _(Thanks. Um…I can't think of a Briar/Evvy fic off of the top of my head, I don't even think I've read one. But yes, I've written the sum total of one CoM fic.)_

**PurpleNinjaWarrior** _(As you'll have found out, this is the last one.)_

**Alyios**_(Ooops. Thanks, I'm not doing very well with Hoshi. I've got his colour and sex wrong so far. I'll sort it out when I can.)_

**Vintage Sequins **_(Yes, and on thinking about it, I find it doubtful they wouldn't recognise her, but it was part of the plot)_

**Hessel**_(Thanks, I wouldn't know about anything like that, I've never done research into it, I'm squimish. I know, a terrible excuse.)_

**SurfAngel** _(It's kind of vague. Some time between her father's funeral and their shopping trip together.)_

**Spyrit**** Phoenyx** _(Welcome. I think you'll find this is a very hard area to leave. And thanks for pointing that out, let's just pretend that they sorted it out and I'll stick in an explanation when I do the final final re-write of the whole thing.)_

**RosieLady**_(Aww. Thanks!)_

**Numair's love** _(Um…just keep at it, no matter how hard it seems.)_

**Kurai** _(Alright, this reply was a long time in coming, but it was writer's license, I wanted that to happen to aid the plot, so it did.)_

**Frosteddarkfox** _(Thanks, I changed that mistake when I updated everything)_

**Crosseyedbutterfly **_(Yeah, on reading the fic again, those things bugged me too, I've tried to change them)_

**Sez** _(Thanks, I don't suppose you can explain what AU actually means, could you? I mean, I know it stands for Alternate Universe, but is that when the fic is set in a different era to the one TP wrote in, or is it what I call a 'what-if' fic, exploring what could have happened if something had occurred differently?)_

**Lena-jade **_(Thank-you.__ And yes, I do like Dom/Kel, but sometimes it is fun to read other things! What does OTP mean?)_

**Fate of Destiny** _(Are you sure you hate Ednar after this chapter? I know he was a horribly character last chapter, but do you like him now?)_

Hannah

P.S. I suddenly realised that you might want to know what I'm doing next! I've got some random ideas for a sequel, in fact, I've written the epilogue (Yes, and I do mean the epilogue). It was originally going to be a one-shot, but it could work fairly well as a epilogue to the sequel, but that'll be a long time coming. Actually, I don't think many people will like it, owing to the fact some rather…different things will be happening.

I'd like to say thanks to anyone who has also reviewed my other stories! And as for Protector of the King's Own, I'm sure this news should make a few of you people happy! I've written...FIVE more chapters, but I've got to get in touch with my beta to check she still does want to beta for me. It's kinda confusing, because I randomly decided to add some extra things to the plot for PotKO, so that means there are going to be some chapters that you'll have to re-read or later plots may not make sense. But hey, we'll get to that when it comes.

For now, goodbye! (And mega thanks for sticking with me this far! Love you all!)


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